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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

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

niyaa pc interj [expression of regret, of remembering what should have been done or should have happened]

nizid nid my foot

See also: inzid nid

nizigos nad my aunt (cross-aunt: father's sister)

nizigozis nad my mother-in-law

nizinis nad my father-in-law

See also: nizhinis nad [N]

nizhinis nad [N] my father-in-law

See also: nizinis nad

nizhiigan nid the small of my back; (the upper part of) my rump, rear end

niibawi vai s/he stands

(causative) niibawi' vta make h/ stand up (causative) niibawitoon vti2 make it stand up niibawitaw vta stand beside h/
niibawi' vta make h/ stand up

Paired with: niibawitoon vti2

niibawingwaami vai [RL] s/he sleeps standing up

niibawitaw vta stand beside h/

niibawitoon vti2 make it stand up

Paired with: niibawi' vta

niibaa- pv lex at night

niibaa-anama'e-giizhigad vii it is Christmas

niibaa-dibik adv tmp late at night

niibaabatoo vai s/he runs at night

niibaabi vai s/he sits up at night

See also: niibebi vai

niibaabizo vai s/he drives at night

niibaabiitaw vta have wake for h/; sit up with h/ at night

niibaadaabii'iwe vai s/he drives at night

niibaakamigad vii it happens at night

Paired with: niibaakamigizi vai

niibaakamigizi vai s/he is active at night

Paired with: niibaakamigad vii

niibaakwazhiwe vai s/he paddles at night

niibaapon vii it snows at night

niibaasin vii

Paired with: niibaashin vai

niibaashin vai s/he or it (animate) lies somewhere overnight

Paired with: niibaasin vii

niibaashkaa vai s/he goes out at night, travels at night

niibaataa vai s/he works into the night

niibaayaanimad vii it is windy at night

niibebi vai s/he holds a wake, sits up at a wake

niibidebidewan vii

niibidebiwag vai they sit side by side in a row

niibidegaabawiwag vai they stand in a row

niibidegoodewan vii they hang in a row

See also: niibidegoojinoog vai

niibidegoodoon vti2 hang it in a row

Paired with: niibidegoozh vta

niibidegoojinoog vai they hang in a row

Paired with: niibidegoodewan vii

niibidegoozh vta hang h/ in row

Paired with: niibidegoodoon vti2

niibide'oodewan vii they (inanimate) are strung in row

Paired with: niibide'oozowag vai

niibide'oodoon vti2 string them (inanimate) on in a row

Paired with: niibide'oozh vta

niibide'oozh vta string them (animate) in in a row

Paired with: niibide'oodoon vti2

niibide'oozowag vai they (animate) are strung in row

Paired with: niibide'oodewan vii

niibidekidewan vii they stand, are planted side by side in a row

Paired with: niibidekizowag vai

niibidekidoon vti2 stand it up, plant it in a row

Paired with: niibidekizh vta

niibidekizh vta stand h/ up, plant h/ in a row

Paired with: niibidekidoon vti2

niibidekizowag vai they stand, are planted side by side in a row

Paired with: niibidekidewan vii

niibidesinoon vii they lie side by side in a row, are lined up

Paired with: niibideshinoog vai

niibideshinoog vai they lie side by side in a row, are lined up

Paired with: niibidesinoon vii

niibideyaabanigoziwag vai they go abreast leave tracks in the snow

niibideyaakwa'an vti pin them (inanimate) on a clothesline side-by-side

niibideyaakwaa vii there is a row of trees

niibidoon vti2 weave it

niibin vii it is summer

niibinakizine vai s/he wears summer shoes or moccasins

niibinaakwaanininj ni a finger

niibinaakwaanizidaan ni a toe

niibini-babiinzikawaagan ni a summer jacket

niibini-bagidaabaan ni a summer setline: a fishing line with multiple hooks set across a stretch of water

niibinishi vai s/he spends the summer somewhere

niibinishiiwigamig ni a resort, a cottage

niibinong adv tmp last summer

niibiwa adv qnt [N] a lot; many; much

See also: niibowa adv qnt [S]

niibowa adv qnt [S] a lot; many; much

See also: gichi-niibowa adv qnt ; niibiwa adv qnt [N] ; onzaam niibowa adv qnt

niibowagiziwag vai here is much of it; they are many

niidakiwenzii nad my (if I am male) fellow old man, old companion

niigaan adv loc ahead, at the front, leading; in the future

niigaanabi vai s/he sits in front

niigaanagoode vii it hangs in front

Paired with: niigaanagoojin vai

niigaanagoodoon vti2 hang it in front

Paired with: niigaanagoozh vta

niigaanagoojin vai s/he hangs in front

Paired with: niigaanagoode vii

niigaanagoozh vta hang h/ in front

Paired with: niigaanagoodoon vti2

niigaanendaagozi vai s/he is considered to be foremost, is considered to be a leader

niigaanendaagoziwin ni leadership

niigaanendaagoziwin ni

niigaani- pv lex ahead, leading, in front

niigaanibatoo vai s/he runs in the lead

niigaanibide vii it drives in the lead

niigaanidaabii vai s/he pulls a load at the front (of a sled)

niigaanidaabii'iwe vai s/he drives in the lead; s/he leads pulling h/ load at the front

niigaanigaabawi vai s/he stands in front

niigaanisidoon vti2 set it in front

Paired with: niigaanishim vta

niigaanisin vii it lies in front

Paired with: niigaanishin vai

niigaanishim vta set h/ in front

Paired with: niigaanisidoon vti2

niigaanishimo vai s/he dances in the lead

niigaanishin vai s/he or it (animate) lies in front

Paired with: niigaanisin vii

niigaaniwizh vta lead h/

niigaanizi vai s/he is always first, is foremost, leads

niigaanii vai s/he leads, goes ahead

niigaanii' vta make h/ go ahead, make h/ lead

niigaaniimagad vii it leads

niigi vai s/he increases in number; s/he is born

(causative) niigi' vta bear h/, make h/ grow or increase in number
niigi' vta bear h/, make h/ grow or increase in number

Paired with: niigitoon vti2

niiginaawaso vai s/he (an animal) gives birth to a litter

niigitoon vti2 make it grow, make it increase in number; make it increase in number

Paired with: niigi' vta

niigode vii it breaks by heat

Paired with: niigozo vai

niigosidoon vti2 break it (by dropping); smash it

Paired with: niigoshim vta

niigosin vii it breaks (on impact)

Paired with: niigoshin vai

niigoshim vta break h/ (by dropping); smash h/

Paired with: niigosidoon vti2

niigoshin vai s/he breaks (on impact)

Paired with: niigosin vii

niigoshkan vti break it (with foot or body)

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.