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naazibiiba'iwe vai s/he flees to the water

naazibiibatoo vai s/he runs down to the water

naazibiibizo vai [BL] s/he drives down to the water

(causative) naazibiibizo' vta drive h/ down to the water (causative) naazibiibizotoon vti2 [BL] drive it down to the water
naazibiibizo' vta drive h/ down to the water

Paired with: naazibiibizotoon vti2 [BL]

naazibiibizotoon vti2 [BL] drive it down to the water

Paired with: naazibiibizo' vta

naazibiidaabaadan vti drag, pull it down to the water

Paired with: naazibiidaabaazh vta

naazibiidaabaazh vta drag, pull h/ down to the water

Paired with: naazibiidaabaadan vti

naazibiidaabii vai s/he drags, pulls a load down to the water

(applicative) naazibiidaabaadan vti drag, pull it down to the water (applicative) naazibiidaabaazh vta drag, pull h/ down to the water
naazibiimon vii it (road or trail) leads to the water

naazibiinigaadan vti carry it down to the water on the shoulder

naazibiinige vai s/he carries something down to the water on the shoulder

(applicative) naazibiinigaadan vti carry it down to the water on the shoulder
naazibiiwanen vai + o s/he carries a pack down to the water

naazibiiwidaaso vai s/he hauls something down to the water

naazibiiwidoon vti2 carry, take it down to the water

Paired with: naazibiiwizh vta

(detransitive) naazibiiwidaaso vai s/he hauls something down to the water
naazibiiwizh vta carry, take h/ down to the water

Paired with: naazibiiwidoon vti2

naazibiiyaawanidiwag vai they go down to the water in a group

naazikamaw vta go get (it) for h/

naazikan vti go to, approach it

Paired with: naazikaw vta [N]

naazikaw vta [N] go to, approach h/

Paired with: naazikan vti

(detransitive) naazikaage vai s/he goes to, approaches people naazikan vti go to, approach it
naazhikaa vii it goes down

naazikaage vai s/he goes to, approaches people

naazhin vta stroke, rub h/

Paired with: naazhinan vti

naazhinan vti stroke, rub it

Paired with: naazhin vta

naazhisidoon vti2 rub it against something

naazitan vti go to where sound of it is

Paired with: naazitaw vta

naazitaw vta go to where sound of h/ is

Paired with: naazitan vti

(detransitive) naazitaage vai s/he goes to where the sound (of them) is, follows their sound
naazitaage vai s/he goes to where the sound (of them) is, follows their sound

naazhiiga'igan ni a hide stretcher

naazhiiga'ige vai s/he stretches a hide

nd= pf I, me [the one or ones speaking, the first person]; my [the one or ones speaking, the first person]

ndawemaa nad my brother; my sibling of the opposite sex; my sister

ndoozhim nad my parallel nephew; my stepson

nedaawangaa vii it is a sand spit, a sandy point

negwam vta choke on it (animate; something swallowed)

Paired with: negwandan vti

negwandam vai2 s/he chokes

negwandan vti choke on it (something swallowed)

Paired with: negwam vta

negwaabam vta glance sideways at h/, look at h/ out of the corner of the eye

Paired with: negwaabandan vti

negwaabandiwag vai they glance sideways at each other nenegwaabam vta keep glancing sideways at h/
(reciprocal) nenegwaabandiwag vai they keep glancing sideways at each other
negwaabandan vti glance sideways at it, look at it out of the corner of the eye

Paired with: negwaabam vta

negwaabandiwag vai they glance sideways at each other

negwaakwaan ni a tap, a spile, a spigot (for getting sap from a tree)

See also: mitigo-negwaakwaan ni

(verb of making) negwaakwaanike vai s/he makes taps for sugaring
negwaakwaanike vai s/he makes taps for sugaring

nekamigaa vii it is point of ground

nekobaa vii it is a point of brush

nemaab na a pool ball; a marble

nemaabii vai s/he plays pool

nemaabiins na a marble

nemaabiiwigamig ni a pool hall

nemon vii

nena'idaa adv tmp exact same

nenawaj adv deg more each time

nenawi' vta sing a lullaby to h/

nenawi'aawaso vai s/he sings a lullaby

nenaanan qnt num five each

nenaandawi'iwed na-v traditional healer

nenaapaajinikesi na a mole

[
star-nosed mole
; 
Condylura cristata
]

nendodamaageshkid na-v beggar

nenegwaabam vta keep glancing sideways at h/

nenegwaabandiwag vai they keep glancing sideways at each other

nengawiminaganzh ni a sand cherry bush

[
Prunus pumila
]

neningodwaaswi qnt num six each

nenisooshkimod qnt num three bags each, three bags each time

neniswi qnt num three each

nenishwaaswi pv qnt eight each

See also: eyishwaaswi qnt num

neniibiwa adv qnt [N] a whole lot, a lot each time, a lot to each one

See also: neniibowa adv qnt [S]

neniibowa adv qnt [S] a whole lot, a lot each time, a lot to each one

See also: neniibiwa adv qnt [N]

neniiwin qnt num four each

neniizh qnt num two each

neniizhiwag vai they are two by two; there are two of them each time

neniizhooshkimod qnt num two bags each, two bags each time

neniizhwaaswi qnt num seven each

nenookaasi na a hummingbird

[
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
; 
Archilochus colubris
]

nenookaasiins na a hummingbird

nesezo vai s/he pants

neshangaa vii it is limber, is slack

Paired with: neshangizi vai

neshangaabiigad vii it is slack (as something string-like)

Paired with: neshangaabiigizi vai

neshangaabiigizi vai s/he is slack (as something string-like)

Paired with: neshangaabiigad vii

neshangisin vii it lies limp, lies slack

Paired with: neshangishin vai

neshangishin vai s/he lies limp, lies slack, lies relaxed

Paired with: neshangisin vii

neshangizi vai s/he is limber, is slack

Paired with: neshangaa vii

newe na a bull snake

neyaab adv man as before; back to previous place or condition

neyaabikaa vii it is a rocky point or cape

neyaakwaa vii there is a point of trees

neyaandagaa vii there is a sandy point

neyaashi ni a point (of land), a cape

(verb of being) neyaashiiwan vii there is a point (of land), a cape
neyaashiiwan vii there is a point (of land), a cape

neyaawangaa vii it is a sandy point

nezaadiikaa vii it is a point of poplars

ni- pv dir coming up to in time; going away

See also: ani- pv dir

ni= pf I, me [the one or ones speaking, the first person]; my [the one or ones speaking, the first person]

nibaa vai s/he sleeps, is asleep

(causative) nibe' vta make h/ sleep, put h/ to bed (verb of pretending) nibekaazo vai s/he pretends to sleep or be asleep (derived noun) nibewin ni [BL] something used to sleep on: a bed, bedding material; a place to sleep: an overnight stopping place (verb of addiction) nibaashki vai s/he sleeps all the time
nibaadaajim vta

nibaadaakigwe vai s/he has a awful cold, has a damn cold

nibaadaanike vai s/he makes a mess digging

nibaadizi vai s/he is a greedy eater, is gluttonous

nibaadweweba'idiwag vai they make a racket scurrying around together

nibaadwewenjige vai s/he eats making irritating noises

nibaadwewesin vii it makes a disturbing sound ringing

nibaagan ni something used to sleep on: a bed, bedding material

nibaaganaatig ni a bed frame

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.