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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

niboowise vai s/he becomes paralyzed; s/he falls ill from bad medicine; s/he has a stroke

niboowizide vai s/he has a paralyzed foot

nibwaakaa vai s/he is wise, is intelligent

(derived noun) nibwaakaawin ni wisdom
nibwaakaawin ni wisdom

nibwaam nid my thigh (back of thigh)

nichiimichaa nad my dear little sibling (brother or sister)

See also: nishiime nad ; nishiimisaa nad

nichiiwad vii there is a severe storm, there is a catastrophe

nichiiwenimo vai s/he acts tough, is agressive; s/he is self-confident, thinks h/self important

nichiiwizi vai s/he is aggressive, is obnoxiously mean, is a bully

niday my dog; my horse

nidiy nid my rump, rear end, butt

See also: indiy nid

nidoondan nid my heel

nigidig nid my knee

See also: ingidig nid [N] ; ningidig nid [C] [N]

nigig na an otter

[
river otter
; 
Lontra canadensis
]

nigigo-bimide ni otter grease

nigigo-wiiyaakwa'igan [BL] otter scent used as a lure in trapping

nigigoonsimin ni a sand cherry

nigigoonsiminaganzh a sand cherry bush

nigigwayaan na an otter hide

nigiigomiishidoonewaji vai h/ moustache is frosted

nigiigwadin vii it is frosted, there is frost

Paired with: nigiigwaji vai See also: ningiigwadin vii

nigiigwaji vai it (animate) is frosted

Paired with: nigiigwadin vii

nigiigwakamikadin vii the ground is frosted, there is frost on the ground

nigiigwaabikadin vii it (rock or something of metal) is frosted

Paired with: nigiigwaabikaji vai

nigiigwaabikaji vai it (animate; rock or something of metal) is frosted

Paired with: nigiigwaabikadin vii

nigiigwaakweyaa vii the woods are frosted

nijiid nid my anus

nika na a goose

[
Canada goose
; 
Branta canadensis
]

nikakwan nid my shin

nikan nid my bone

nikanendi vai s/he is gone overnight

nikatig nid my forehead, brow

nikaad nid my leg

nikaakigan nid my chest

nikibii vai it (animate) is flooded

Paired with: nikibii vii

nikibii vii it is flooded

Paired with: nikibii vai

nikidin nad my vulva

nikon nid my liver

nikonaas nid my blanket

nikwegan nid my neck

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

nimaamaa nad my mother

niminaako vai s/he goes out from shore on the ice

niminaakobizo vai s/he drives out on the ice

niminaawa'o vai s/he paddles out from shore

niminaawa'oodoon vti2 transport it out into the lake (by paddling, etc.)

Paired with: niminaawa'oozh vta

niminaawa'oozh vta take h/ out into the lake (by paddling, etc.)

Paired with: niminaawa'oodoon vti2

niminaawaandawaagan ni a dock

See also: niminaaweyaandawaagan ni

niminaawaandawaaganike vai s/he builds a dock or docks
niminaawaandawaaganike vai s/he builds a dock or docks

niminaawegwinde vii it is in the water out from shore, is floating in the water out from shore

Paired with: niminaawegwinjin vai

niminaawegwinjin vai s/he or it (animate) is in the water out from shore, is floating in the water out from shore

Paired with: niminaawegwinde vii

niminaawe'o vai s/he paddles out from shore

niminaawekawe vai s/he leaves tracks going out from shore (on the ice)

niminaawekii vii it grows out into the lake

niminaawekii'o vai s/he poles a boat out from shore

niminaawekwazhiwe vai s/he paddles out from shore

niminaawenan vti launch it

niminaawesaa vai [BL] s/he sets a net out from the shore

niminaaweshimo vai s/he dances out into the arena

niminaaweshkaa vai s/he goes out into the lake or an open area

niminaaweshkiiga'am vai2 s/he walks out into a muskeg or swamp

niminaawewebinan vti launch it (by pushing)

niminaaweyaadagaa vai [MN] s/he swims out from shore

niminaaweyaadagaako vai s/he goes out from shore on the ice

niminaaweyaadagaazii vai s/he wades out from shore

niminaaweyaandawaagan ni a dock

See also: niminaawaandawaagan ni

niminaaweyaanimad vii the wind blows offshore

niminaaweyaasin vii it blows out into the lake, offshore

Paired with: niminaaweyaashi vai

niminaaweyaashi vai s/he is blown down the lake, is blown offshore

Paired with: niminaaweyaasin vii

niminaazii vai s/he goes out into the water

nimisad nid my belly, stomach

nimisenh nad my older sister

nimiskam vta insult h/ with gesture of flinging fingers out

nimishoo nad grampa

See also: nimishoomis nad

nimishoome nad my stepfather; my uncle (parallel uncle: father's brother)

nimishoomis nad my grandfather

nimitaama'am vai2 [BL] s/he paddles at the bow

nimiishigwaan nid my (single) pubic hair

ninagaskway nid my palate

ninagaakininj nid my palm

ninagaakizid nid my sole

ninagizh nid my intestine, gut

ninagway nid my sleeve

ninaw nid [N] my cheek

See also: ninow nid [ML]

ninaabem nad my husband

ninaan nad my calf

ninaan nid [LL] [RL] my calf

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

nindawaa adv man a course of action is suggested: rather, might as well, it would be better to/if/that...; a course of action is taken as a consequence of something: therefore, consequently

See also: indawaa adv man ; indawaaj adv man

nindawemaa my brother; my sibling of the opposite sex; my sister

nindaangwe nad my sister-in-law (a female's sister-in-law)

See also: indaangwe nad

nindaanis nad my daughter

nindaashaan pc disc come here!

See also: indaashaan pc disc

nindengway nid [ML] my face

nindengwaan nid [N] my face

nindenigom nad my nostril

nindigo adv man as if; just like, seems like

nindiniigan nid my shoulder blade (scapula)

See also: indiniigan nid

nindoon nid my mouth

nindoozhim nad
  1. my nephew (parallel nephew: a male's brother's son or a female's sister's son)
  2. my stepson

See also: indoozhim nad

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.