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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

odoodooshiman nad her breast

odoogimaami vai s/he has a boss or bosses, a chief or chiefs

odoomoodaami vai s/he has a bottle

odoon nid h/ mouth

odoonaagani vai s/he has a dish or dishes

odoondan ni heel of shoe

odoondan nid h/ heel

odoondanegwaajigan ni a tab at heel of moccasin

odoonibiins na a tullibee

[
cisco, lake herring
; 
Coregonus artedii
]

odoopwaagani vai s/he has a pipe or pipes

odooskwan nid h/ elbow

odooskwana'an vti elbow it

Paired with: odooskwana'wi vta [NI]

odooskwana'wi vta [NI] elbow h/; nudge h/ with an elbow

Paired with: odooskwana'an vti

odoozhiman nad
  1. h/ nephew (parallel nephew: male's brother's son or female's sister's son)
  2. h/ stepson

odoozhimikweman nad h/ stepdaughter

odoozhimisan nad h/ niece (parallel niece: female's sister's daughter or male's brother's daughter)

ogashkibidaagani vai s/he has a medicine bag

ogashkibidaaganin vai + o have it or it (animate) as a pouch

ogashkimanisii na [NI] a kingfisher

[
belted kingfisher
; 
Ceryle alcyon 
]

See also: ogiishkimanisii na

ogaa na a walleye

[
Stizostedion vitreum
]

ogaazhagensimi vai s/he has a cat or cats

ogichidaa na a ceremonial headman; a warrior, a veteran

(verb of being) ogichidaawi vai s/he is an ogichidaa (ceremonial headman), is a warrior, is a veteran
ogichidaa-nagamo vai s/he sings a warrior song

ogichidaa-nagamon ni a warrior song

ogichidaakwe na a ceremonial headwoman; wife of ceremonial headman

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.