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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

odabinoojiinyimi vai s/he has a child or children; s/he is expecting a child

odabwii vai s/he has a paddle or paddles

odachaabii vai s/he has a bowstring

odagamiiming [BF]

oda'amii vai s/he takes a step

odakiko vai s/he has a kettle, pot, pan, or pail

odakiimi vai s/he has land

odamikomi vai s/he has a beaver or beavers

odamino vai s/he plays

(applicative) odaminwaazh vta play with h/ (as a toy or doll) (applicative) odaminwaadan vti play with it (as a toy) (verb of use) odaminwaage vai + o s/he uses something as a toy; s/he plays with something (as a toy) (verb of use) odaminwaagen vai + o use it as a toy; play with it (as a toy) (causative) odamino' vta make h/ play; play with h/ (derived noun) odaminwaagan na a doll (derived noun) odaminwaagan ni a toy; a plaything
(verb of possession) odoodaminwaagani vai s/he has a toy or doll
odamino' vta make h/ play; play with h/

odaminoo-giizhigad vii it is a holiday

See also: odaminoowi-giizhigad vii

odaminoowaatese vii it is a movie for children, is a kid's movie

odaminoowi-giizhigad vii it is a holiday

See also: odaminoo-giizhigad vii

odaminoowigamig ni a recreation building

odaminwaabigan na playdough

odaminwaadan vti play with it (as a toy)

Paired with: odaminwaazh vta

odaminwaagan na a doll

odaminwaagan ni a plaything; a toy

odaminwaaganikaan ni toy being made

odaminwaage vai + o s/he uses something as a toy; s/he plays with something (as a toy)

See also: odaminwaagen vai + o

odaminwaagen vai + o play with it (as a toy); use it as a toy

See also: odaminwaage vai + o

odaminwaazh vta play with h/ (as a toy or doll)

Paired with: odaminwaadan vti

odanwiimi vai s/he has bullets, has (shotgun) shells

odapishimoni vai s/he has something (a mattress, bedding on the floor) to lie on

odasabaabisi vai [BL] s/he has thread

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.