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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

madwekamigishin vai s/he is heard falling on the ground

madwekamigishkige vai s/he is heard walking on or stamping the ground

madwekwadin vii the ice is heard cracking from the cold

madwem vta chew it (animate) audibly

Paired with: madwendan vti

madwenaamo vai [BL] s/he is heard breathing, snorts, huffs and puffs

madwendan vti chew it audibly

Paired with: madwem vta

(detransitive) madwenjige vai s/he chews something audibly, is heard chewing
madwengwaam vai [ML] s/he snores, makes noise in h/ sleep

See also: madwengwaami vai [RL] ; madwengwaamo vai [BL]

madwengwaami vai [RL] s/he snores, makes noise in h/ sleep

See also: madwengwaamo vai [BL] ; madwengwaam vai [ML]

madwengwaamo vai [BL] s/he snores, makes noise in h/ sleep

See also: madwengwaami vai [RL] ; madwengwaam vai [ML]

madwenjige vai s/he chews something audibly, is heard chewing

madwesagibatoo vai s/he is heard running on the floor

madwesagishimo vai s/he is tap-dancing, is heard dancing on the floor

madwesagishin vai s/he is heard walking or falling on the floor

madwesidoon vti2 make it sound by dropping or hitting it, ring it

Paired with: madweshim vta

(detransitive) madwesijige vai s/he makes noise dropping or hitting things, rings things
madwesijige vai s/he makes noise dropping or hitting things, rings things

madwesin vii it makes noise dropping or hitting something, rings

Paired with: madweshin vai

madweshim vta make it (animate) sound by dropping or hitting it, ring it (animate)

Paired with: madwesidoon vti2

madweshin vai s/he makes noise dropping or hiting, rings

Paired with: madwesin vii

madweshkan vti step on or bump it making noise

Paired with: madweshkaw vta

madweshkaw vta step on or bump h/ or it (animate) making noise

Paired with: madweshkan vti

madwetaa vai s/he is heard in an activity

madwetoo vai s/he is heard moving or doing something

madwewe vii it makes noise, resounds, reverberates

madwewechigan ni a musical instrument (especially a keyboard instrument): a piano, an organ

madwewechige vai s/he makes things sound, plays (music)

The Ojibwe People's Dictionary is developed and maintained by:
Nora Livesay, Editor
John D. Nichols, Founder and Linguistic Editor

with support and collaboration from the University of Minnesota's Department of American Indian Studies and University Libraries.

Additional Resources

Many of the words in the Ojibwe People's Dictionary have related resources. Click through to the full dictionary entry to hear audio recordings, see images, read documents and watch videos. Here's a key to resource icons.

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Speakers & Regions Key

Individual speakers and speakers from different regions use different words when speaking. Each audio recording is marked with the initials of the Ojibwe speaker. Click on a speaker's initials to go to the speaker's bio page. If an Ojibwe word is particular to a certain region, it will be marked with a region code. Click on the region code to go to the Regions page.