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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

niizhoobizowag vai two of them speed, drive, fly together

niizhoobii'igan na a deuce, a two (card)

niizhoodenh na a twin

niizhoogamaa vii there are twin lakes

niizhoogaabawiwag vai two of them stand together

niizhoogaade vai it (animate) has two wheels; s/he has two legs

niizhookik qnt num two pails, two pailfuls

niizhookwewe vai he has two women, two wives

niizhoonag qnt num two boats or canoes, two boatloads

niizhoonagiziwag vai there are two canoes or boats of them

niizhoonikeni vai s/he uses both arms (or hands)

niizhoopidewan vii two of them (inanimate) are tied together

Paired with: niizhoopizowag vai

niizhoopidoon vti2 tie two of them (inanimate) together

Paired with: niizhoopizh vta

niizhoopizh vta tie, hitch two of them (animate) together

Paired with: niizhoopidoon vti2

niizhoopizowag vai two of them (animate) are tied together, are hitched together

Paired with: niizhoopidewan vii

niizhooshimowag vai s/he two of them dance together

niizhooshinoog vai two of them lie together

niizhooshkimod qnt num two bags

niizhooshkin qnt num two bags

niizhootawage vai s/he has two ears

niizhwaginzo vai [BL] it is the second (of the month)

niizhwaabik qnt num two dollars

niizhwaabiig adv num two strands, two strings

niizhwaaching adv tmp seven times

niizhwaachinoon vii they (inanimate) are seven, there are seven of them

Paired with: niizhwaachiwag vai

niizhwaachiwag vai they (animate) are seven, there are seven of them

Paired with: niizhwaachinoon vii

niizhwaak qnt num two hundred

niizhwaasimidana qnt num seventy

niizhwaaso qnt num [RL] seven

See also: niizhwaaswi qnt num

niizhwaaso- pv qnt seven

niizhwaaso-anama'e-giizhigad vii it is seven weeks

niizhwaaso-anama'e-giizhik qnt num seven weeks

niizhwaaso-anama'e-giizhikwagad vii it is seven weeks

niizhwaaso-biboon qnt num seven years; seven winters

niizhwaaso-biboonagad vii it is seven years

Paired with: niizhwaaso-biboonagizi vai

niizhwaaso-biboonagizi vai s/he is seven years old

niizhwaaso-diba'igan qnt num
  1. seven hours
  2. seven miles

niizhwaaso-diba'igane vii [N] it is seven o'clock

niizhwaaso-diba'iganed vii [S] it is seven o'clock

niizhwaaso-diba'iganeyaa vii [BL] it is seven o'clock

niizhwaaso-diba'igaans qnt num
  1. seven minutes
  2. seven acres

niizhwaaso-diba'oobaan qnt num [BL] seven gallons

niizhwaaso-dibaabiishkoojigan qnt num seven pounds

niizhwaaso-dibik qnt num seven nights

niizhwaaso-gikinoonowin qnt num seven years

niizhwaaso-giizhik qnt num seven days

niizhwaaso-giizis qnt num seven months

niizhwaaso-giiziswagad vii it is seven months

Paired with: niizhwaaso-giiziswagizi vai

niizhwaaso-giiziswagizi vai s/he is seven months old

Paired with: niizhwaaso-giiziswagad vii

niizhwaaso-minikwaajigan qnt num seven gallons

niizhwaaso-mininj qnt num [NI] seven inches

niizhwaaso-mizid qnt num [NI] seven feet

niizhwaasogon qnt num seven days

niizhwaasogonagad vii it is seven days

Paired with: niizhwaasogonagizi vai

niizhwaasogonagizi vai
  1. s/he is seven days old
  2. it is the seventh day of the month

Paired with: niizhwaasogonagad vii

niizhwaasonaaganens qnt num [BL] seven cups

niizhwaasonaagaans qnt num seven cups, cupfuls

niizhwaasoninj qnt num seven inches

niizhwaasosagoons qnt num seven thousand

niizhwaasozid qnt num seven feet

niizhwaasoobiwag vai seven of them sit together; seven of them are at home

niizhwaasoobii'igan na a seven (card)

niizhwaasoogaabawiwag vai seven of them stand together

niizhwaasookik qnt num seven pails, seven pailfuls

niizhwaasoonag qnt num seven boats or canoes, seven boatloads

niizhwaasoopidewan vii seven of them (inanimate) are tied together

Paired with: niizhwaasoopizowag vai

niizhwaasoopidoon vti2 tie seven of them (inanimate) together

Paired with: niizhwaasoopizh vta

niizhwaasoopizh vta tie, hitch seven of them (animate) together

niizhwaasoopizowag vai seven of them (animate) are tied together, are hitched together

Paired with: niizhwaasoopidewan vii

niizhwaasooshkimod qnt num seven bagfuls; seven bags

niizhwaasooshkin qnt num seven bags

niizhwaaswaginzo vai [BL] it is the seventh (of the month)

niizhwaaswaabik qnt num seven dollars

niizhwaaswaak qnt num seven hundred

niizhwaasweg qnt num seven pieces of something sheet-like

niizhwaaswemikwaanens qnt num seven spoonfuls

niizhwaaswewaan qnt num seven pairs; seven sets

niizhwaaswi qnt num seven

See also: niizhwaaso qnt num [RL]

niizhwaatig qnt num two stick-like objects

niizhweg qnt num two pieces of something sheet-like

niizhweginigan qnt num two packages

niizhwemikwaanens qnt num two spoonfuls

niizhwewaan qnt num two pairs; two sets

niizhwewaanagadoon vii there are two sets, pairs, or kinds of them (inanimate)

Paired with: niizhwewaanagiziwag vai

niizhwewaanagiziwag vai there are two sets, pairs, or kinds of them (animate)

Paired with: niizhwewaanagadoon vii

noobaadan vti suck on it; nurse on it

(detransitive) noobaajige vai s/he sucks on something (derived noun) noobaajigan ni a baby bottle
(derived noun) noobaajigaans ni a pacifier
noobaajigan ni a baby bottle

noobaajigaans ni a pacifier

noobaajige vai s/he sucks on something

noodamewe vai s/he goes after sturgeon, goes fishing for sturgeon

Paired with: noojinamewe vai

noodamikwe vai s/he hunts beaver, traps beaver

noodazhashkwe vai s/he hunts muskrat

noodendam vai2 s/he flirts

noodenim vta flirt with h/

See also: noondenim vta [RL]

(reciprocal) noodenindiwag vai they flirt with each other
noodenindiwag vai they flirt with each other

noodin vii it is windy; there is a wind; the wind blows

noogi- pv lex come to a stop, halt

noogibagizo vai s/he stops suddenly while dancing

noogibatoo vai s/he stops running

noogibide vii it stops driving, stops speeding

Paired with: noogibizo vai

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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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.