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noonaajige' vta nurse h/ from the bottle

noonaajige'aawaso vai s/he nurses a baby from the bottle

noonaawaso vai s/he nurses a baby

noondam vai2 s/he hears

noondan vti hear it

Paired with: noondaw vta

noondaw vta hear h/

Paired with: noondan vti

(reflexive) noondaadizo vai s/he hears h/ self (reciprocal) noondaadiwag vai they hear each other
noondaadiwag vai they hear each other

noondaadizo vai s/he hears h/ self

noondaagochigan ni a musical instrument (especially a wind instrument): horn, whistle, harmonica

See also: noondaagochigan na [RL]

noondaagochigan na [RL] a musical instrument (especially a wind instrument): horn, whistle, harmonica

See also: noondaagochigan ni

noondaagochige vai s/he plays a wind instrument

noondaagomochigan ni [BL] something that is used to make a sound: a musical instrument, a car horn, a radio, etc.

noondaagomo' vta make a sound with it (animate); make a sound at h/

Paired with: noondaagomotoon vti2

noondaagomotoon vti2 make a sound with it; turn it (something that makes sounds) on

Paired with: noondaagomo' vta

(derived noun) noondaagomochigan ni [BL] something that is used to make a sound: a musical instrument, a car horn, a radio, etc.
noondaagotoon vti2 play it (so it makes sounds)

(detransitive) noondaagochige vai s/he plays a wind instrument (derived noun) noondaagochigan na [RL] a musical instrument (especially a wind instrument): horn, whistle, harmonica (derived noun) noondaagochigan ni a musical instrument (especially a wind instrument): horn, whistle, harmonica
noondaagozi vai
  1. s/he is heard, makes a sound, makes a noise
  2. s/he calls with a characteristic sound (moo, neigh, croak, etc.)

Paired with: noondaagwad vii

noondaagwad vii it is heard, makes a sound, makes noise

Paired with: noondaagozi vai

noondaagweweyaabikibizo vai

noonde- pv lex before the usual time; need to

noondedibikwe vai

noonde'ookii vai s/he doesn't have enough to go around, is short of things to distribute

noondekizineshin vai s/he is out of shoes to wear

noondenaamo vai s/he runs short of breath, is short-winded

noondengwashi vai s/he is sleepy (before normal time), needs to sleep

noondenim vta [RL] flirt with h/

See also: noodenim vta

noondesachige vai s/he runs short of things

noondesa' vta run short of h/

Paired with: noondesatoon vti2

noondesatoon vti2 run short of it

Paired with: noondesa' vta

(detransitive) noondesachige vai s/he runs short of things
noondese vai s/he runs short

Paired with: noondese vii

noondese vii it runs short

Paired with: noondese vai

noondeskade vai [BL] [RL] s/he is hungry

noondeskadewinaagozi vai [BL] s/he looks hungry

noondeshin vai s/he is fatigued, is exhausted, falls short of a goal

noondeyaabanishi vai s/he runs short of food in the winter, doesn't make it to spring

noondeyaabaagwe vai [BL] s/he is thirsty

noondezi vai s/he is unable to finish; s/he is incapable

noongom adv tmp now, today, nowadays

nooni vai s/he [a child] nurses, sucks at the breast

(causative) nooni' vta breast feed h/
nooni' vta breast feed h/

noonishkan vti can't fit it (with foot or body)

Paired with: noonishkaw vta

noonishkaw vta don't fit h/ (with foot or body)

Paired with: noonishkan vti

noopiming adv loc in the bush; in the woods; inland

See also: noopimiing adv loc [BL]

noopimiing adv loc [BL] in the bush; in the woods; inland

See also: noopiming adv loc

noopinadan vti follow it, go after it [something moving]

Paired with: noopinazh vta

noopinanidiwag vai they follow each other

noopinazh vta follow h/, go after h/ [someone going somewhere]

Paired with: noopinadan vti

(reciprocal) noopinanidiwag vai they follow each other
noopinizha' vta follow, pursue h/

noos nad my father

See also: imbaabaa nad ; indede nad

noosa'owesi na a smallmouth bass

nooskwaada' vta lick h/

Paired with: nooskwaada'an vti

nooskwaada'an vti lick it

Paired with: nooskwaada' vta

(detransitive) nooskwaada'ige vai s/he licks something
nooskwaada'ige vai s/he licks something

nooskwaanzo vai s/he licks sap

noosom vta call, yell after h/

noosookaa vii [BL] it is soft and fluffy

Paired with: noosookizi vai [BL]

noosooki- pv lex soft and fluffy

noosooki-desabiwin ni [BL] a soft upholstered chair, an easy chair, a recliner

See also: gichi-noosooki-desabiwin ni [BL]

noosookigwane vai it (animate) has fluffy feathers

noosookitoon vti2

noosookizi vai [BL] it (animate) is soft and fluffy

Paired with: noosookaa vii [BL]

noosookiigad vii it (sheet-like) is soft and fluffy

Paired with: noosookiigizi vai

noosookiigizi vai it (animate; sheet-like) is soft and fluffy

Paired with: noosookiigad vii

nooshkaachigan ni winnowed rice

nooshkaachigaade vii it is winnowed (by someone), "they" winnow it

nooshkaachige vai s/he winnows things, winnows wild rice

nooshkaachinaagan ni a winnowing tray, a winnowing basket

(verb of making) nooshkaachinaaganike vai s/he makes a winnowing tray, winnowing basket
nooshkaachinaaganike vai s/he makes a winnowing tray, winnowing basket

nooshkaatamaw vta winnow (it) for h/

nooshkaatoon vti2 winnow it [wild rice]

(verb of undergoing) nooshkaachigaade vii it is winnowed (by someone), "they" winnow it (derived noun) nooshkaachigan ni winnowed rice (detransitive) nooshkaachige vai s/he winnows things, winnows wild rice (benefactive) nooshkaatamaw vta winnow (it) for h/
noozh vta nurse h/ [a baby]

noozhe- pv lex a female

noozhe-bineshiinh na a female bird

noozhe-bizhiw na a female lynx

noozhe-makwa na a female bear, a sow (bear)

See also: noozhek na

noozhe-mooz na a female moose, a cow (moose)

noozhe-waagosh na a female fox, a vixen

noozhe-waawaashkeshi na [NI] a female deer, a doe

noozhek na a female bear, a sow (bear)

See also: noozhe-makwa na

noozhemik na a female beaver

noozhesim na
  1. a mare
  2. a female dog, a bitch

noozheshib na a female duck, a (duck) hen

noozheyaakig na a female otter

noozhezhashk na a female muskrat

noozhis nad [BL] my grandchild

noozis nad my grandchild

noozhishenh nad my grandchild

nyaa pc disc indication of disbelief or acknowledgement of an unfortunate or embarrassing truth used by women

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.