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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

odasabii vai s/he has a net or nets

odasemaami vai s/he has tobacco

See also: odasemaawi vai

odasemaansimi vai s/he has a cigarette or cigarettes

odasemaawazhi vai s/he has a tobacco bag

odasemaawi vai s/he has tobacco

See also: odasemaami vai

odasiniinsimi vai s/he has gall stones

odatagaagomin na a blackberry

odatagaagominagaawanzh na a blackberry bush

odawemaan nad h/ sibling of the opposite sex: her brother, his sister

odaya'aami vai s/he has property, has dependents

See also: odaya'iimi vai

odaya'iimi vai s/he has stuff, has property

See also: odaya'aami vai

odayan nad h/ dog; h/ horse

odayi vai
  1. s/he has a dog
  2. s/he has a horse

odazhegomoo na rock bass

odazhigani vai s/he has socks

odaabaabika'igani vai s/he has a key or keys

odaabaadan vti drag, pull it as a load

Paired with: odaabaazh vta

odaabaajigaade vii it is dragged (by someone), "they" drag it

odaabaajigaazo vai s/he or it (animate) is dragged (by someone), "they" drag h/ or it (animate)

odaabaan ni [N]
  1. something dragged or pulled as a means of conveyance: a wagon
  2. a car, an automobile, a vehicle

See also: odaabaan na [LL] [ML]

(verb of making) odaabaanike vai s/he repairs, works on, or makes a means of conveyance or vehicle: car, automobile, wagon, sled. sleigh (verb of possession) odoodaabaani vai s/he has a car or cars
odaabaan ni a wrapped and bundled sled load

odaabaan na [LL] [ML]
  1. something pulled or dragged as a means of conveyance: a sled, a sleigh, a wagon
  2. a car, an automobile, a vehicle

See also: odaabaan ni [N]

(verb of making) odaabaanike vai s/he repairs, works on, or makes a means of conveyance or vehicle: car, automobile, wagon, sled. sleigh (verb of possession) odoodaabaani vai s/he has a car or cars
odaabaanaak na a sled; a sleigh

(verb of making) odaabaanaakoke vai s/he makes sleds, makes sleighs
odaabaanaakoke vai s/he makes sleds, makes sleighs

odaabaaneyaab ni a sled rope

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.