Search the dictionary Advanced Search

How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

ondaashkaa vii waves come from a certain place or direction

ondaawadaaso vai s/he hauls a load, hauls freight from a certain place

ondaawadoon vti2 haul it from a certain place

Paired with: ondaawazh vta

(detransitive) ondaawadaaso vai s/he hauls a load, hauls freight from a certain place
ondaawanidiwag vai they travel in a group from a certain place

ondaawazh vta haul h/ from a certain place

Paired with: ondaawadoon vti2

(reciprocal) ondaawanidiwag vai they travel in a group from a certain place
ondaazhagaame vai s/he comes from a certain place along the shore

ondaazhagaamebizo vai s/he drives from a certain place along the shore

ondaazakonenjige vai s/he comes from a certain place with a light

onde vii it boils

Paired with: onzo vai

ondendi vai s/he is gone from a certain place, absent from a certain place

ondenim vta envy h/

(reciprocal) ondenindiwag vai they are envious of each other
ondenindiwag vai they are envious of each other

ondin vii the wind comes from a certain direction

ondin vta get, obtain h/ or it (animate) from a certain place

Paired with: ondinan vti

ondinamaw vta get, obtain (it) for h/ from a certain place

ondinamaadizo vai s/he gets, obtains (it) for h/ self from a certain place

ondinamaazo vai s/he gets, obtains (it) for h/ self from a certain place

ondinan vti get, obtain it from a certain place

Paired with: ondin vta

(detransitive) ondinige vai s/he gets, obtains things from a certain place (benefactive) ondinamaw vta get, obtain (it) for h/ from a certain place
(reflexive) ondinamaadizo vai s/he gets, obtains (it) for h/ self from a certain place (reflexive) ondinamaazo vai s/he gets, obtains (it) for h/ self from a certain place
(verb of undergoing) ondinigaazo vai s/he is obtained from a certain place (by someone); "they" get, obtain h/ from a certain place (verb of undergoing) ondinigaade vii it is obtained from a certain place (by someone); "they" get, obtain it from a certain place
ondinigaade vii it is obtained from a certain place (by someone); "they" get, obtain it from a certain place

ondinigaazo vai s/he is obtained from a certain place (by someone); "they" get, obtain h/ from a certain place

ondinige vai s/he gets, obtains things from a certain place

ondinise vai s/he gets fire wood from a certain place

ondisinii vai s/he gets h/ food from a certain place

ondizi vai s/he makes a living a certain way, earns or makes money, gets paid, benefits a certain way, inherits from a certain source

ondose vai s/he walks from a certain place

ondoode vai s/he crawls from a certain place

ondoom vta carry h/ on back from a certain place

Paired with: ondoondan vti

ondoomaawaso vai s/he carries baby from a certain place on h/ back

ondoomigo vai s/he rides from a certain place on horseback

ondoondan vti carry it on the back from a certain place

Paired with: ondoom vta

ondweweba'idiwag vai they are heard running from a certain place together

ondwewebatoo vai s/he is heard running from a certain place

ondwewebiisaa vii [MN] rain is heard coming from a certain place

See also: ondwewebiisaan vii [BL]

ondwewebiisaan vii [BL] rain is heard coming from a certain place

See also: ondwewebiisaa vii [MN]

ondweweyaadagaa vai s/he is heard swimming from a certain place

ondweweyaadagaako vai heard coming from a certain place on the ice

ondweweyaadagaazii vai s/he is heard wading from a certain place

ondweweyaagone vai s/he is heard coming from there in the snow

ondweweyaagonebatoo vai s/he is heard running from a certain place in snow

ondweweyaanimad vii the wind is heard coming from a certain direction

ondwewidam vai2 s/he sounds, speaks from a certain place

onendam vai2 s/he decides what to do, figures something out

ongow pron dem [C] [S] these (animate plural)

See also: ogow pron dem [N] ; ogowe pron dem [N]

ongowedig pron dem [C] [S] these over here (animate plural)

onibiimi vai s/he has water

onigam ni a portage

onik nid h/ arm

onik ni [RL] rod and piston

onikodan vti cut it to shape

Paired with: onikozh vta

onikozh vta cut h/ to shape

Paired with: onikodan vti

onin vta
  1. form, shape, assemble, order it (animate); get it (animate) ready (by hand)
  2. deal it (animate; playing cards)

Paired with: oninan vti

oninamaw vta form, shape, assemble (it) for h/, put (it) in order for h/

oninamaa vai s/he looks for a place to camp for the night, looks for a place to sleep; s/he gets ready for bed

oninan vti form, shape, assemble it; get it ready (by hand); put it in order, put it away

Paired with: onin vta

(benefactive) oninamaw vta form, shape, assemble (it) for h/, put (it) in order for h/ (detransitive) oninige vai
  1. s/he forms, shapes, assembles, orders things
  2. s/he shuffles and deals cards
 (verb of undergoing) oninigaade vii it is formed, shaped, assembled, put in order (by someone) (verb of undergoing) oninigaazo vai it (animate) is formed, shaped, assembled, put in order (by someone)
oninasabii vai s/he prepares a net for setting

oning nid h/ armpit; its wing

oningwanan nad h/ son-in-law

oningwani vai s/he has a son-in-law

oningwanisan nad h/ nephew (cross-nephew: male's sister's son or female's brother's son)

oningwanisi vai s/he has a daughter-in-law

oningwiigan nid its wing; h/ armpit

oninigaade vii it is formed, shaped, assembled, put in order (by someone)

oninigaazo vai it (animate) is formed, shaped, assembled, put in order (by someone)

oninige vai
  1. s/he forms, shapes, assembles, orders things
  2. s/he shuffles and deals cards

oninj nid h/ hand, h/ finger

oninjigan nid h/ fin (especially a pectoral fin of a fish); h/ (crayfish) pincer

oninjigani vai s/he (a fish) has fins; s/he (a crayfish) has pincers

oninjii-baashkizigan ni a handgun

oninjiikaazo vai s/he has a prosthetic arm

onishiwan nad his testicle(s)

onishkaa vai s/he gets up (from a prone position)

onishkaabatoo vai s/he jumps up out of bed

onizh vta cut it (animate) out (to make it), form it (animate) by cutting

Paired with: onizhan vti See also: onizhwi vta [NI]

onizhamaw vta cut (it) out, cut (it) to shape for h/

onizhan vti cut it out (to make t), form it by cutting; slice it

Paired with: onizh vta ; onizhwi vta [NI]

(benefactive) onizhamaw vta cut (it) out, cut (it) to shape for h/ (detransitive) onizhige vai s/he cuts things out, cuts things to shape (verb of undergoing) onizhigaade vii it is cut out, cut to shape (by someone), "they" cut it out, cut it so shape (verb of undergoing) onizhigaazo vai it (animate) is cut out, cut to shape (by someone), "they" cut it (animate) out, cut it (animate) to shape
onizhigaade vii it is cut out, cut to shape (by someone), "they" cut it out, cut it so shape

onizhigaazo vai it (animate) is cut out, cut to shape (by someone), "they" cut it (animate) out, cut it (animate) to shape

onizhige vai s/he cuts things out, cuts things to shape

onizhishaanikwe vai s/he has nice hair

onizhishendan vti think it is nice or looks nice

Paired with: onizhishenim vta

onizhishenim vta think h/ or it (animate) is nice or looks nice

Paired with: onizhishendan vti

onizhishenimo vai s/he thinks h/self to be nice or look nice

onizhishi vai it (animate) is nice, pretty, beautiful, handsome

Paired with: onizhishin vii

onizhishi' vta make it (animate) nice, pretty, beautiful

Paired with: onizhishitoon vti2

onizhishin vii it is nice, pretty

Paired with: onizhishi vai

onizhishinaagwad vii it looks nice, looks beautiful

onizhishitoon vti2 make it nice, pretty, beautiful

Paired with: onizhishi' vta

onizhishiigad vii it (sheet-like) is nice, is pretty

Paired with: onizhishiigizi vai

onizhishiigizi vai it (animate; sheet-like) is nice, is pretty

Paired with: onizhishiigad vii

onizhwi vta [NI] cut it (animate) out (to make it), form it (animate) by cutting

Paired with: onizhan vti See also: onizh vta

oniigi'igoon nad h/ parent

oniijaani na a mature female of the deer family: a doe, a cow moose

oniijaanisan nad h/ child

oniijaanisensi vai s/he has a small child or small children, has a small young one or small young

oniijaanisi vai s/he has a child or children, has a young one or young

oniijaanisim vta have h/ as a child

oniijaaniw na a doe

oniishkwan nad h/ gland (lymph node)

onji- pv rel because; for a certain reason; from a certain place

onji-ayaa vai s/he is from, comes from a certain place; s/he is (somewhere) for a certain reason

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.

  • Audio recordings
  • Images
  • Video
  • Documents

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.