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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

wabaa vii it is a narrows

wabaashiiwan vii there is a narrows

wabigamaa vii there is a channel between lakes; there is a narrows

See also: obigamaa vii

wadab na a spruce root

wadabii-makak ni a spruce root basket

wadikwan ni a branch

(verb of being) wadikwaniwi vai it (animate) has branches (verb of being) wadikwaniwan vii it has branches
wadikwaniwan vii it has branches

Paired with: wadikwaniwi vai

wadikwaniwi vai it (animate) has branches

Paired with: wadikwaniwan vii

wadikwaniiwegad vii it (sheet-like) has marks of branches

wadiswan ni [S] a nest

See also: wazison ni [BL] ; waziswan ni [N]

wadow na a blood clot

wadoop na [MN] an alder

[
speckled alder
; 
Alnus rugosa
]

See also: adoop ni [BL]

wagidajiw adv loc on top of a mountain

See also: agidajiw adv loc [ML] ; ogidajiw adv loc

wagidakamig adv loc on top of the ground

See also: agidakamig adv loc ; ogidakamig adv loc

wagidaagonag adv loc on top of the snow

wagidaaki adv loc on top of a hill

See also: ogidaaki adv loc

wagijaya'ii adv loc on top, on top of

See also: ogijaya'ii adv loc [N]

wagijayi'ii adv loc on top, on top of

wagiji- pv lex on top, on top of

wagijidaabaan adv loc on top of a vehicle (car, truck, wagon)

See also: ogijidaabaan adv loc

wa'a pron dem this (animate singular)

See also: wa'aw pron dem

wa'aw pron dem this (animate singular)

See also: wa'a pron dem ; wa'awe pron dem [N]

wa'awe pron dem [N] this (animate singular)

See also: wa'aw pron dem

wa'awedi pron dem this over here (animate singular)

wajepii vai s/he is quick, is agile

wajiw ni a mountain

wake- pv lex easily, weak

See also: oke- pv lex [RL]

wakebii vai s/he gets drunk easily

wakewaji vai s/he can't take being cold, gets chilled easily

wakewan vii it is fragile, is weak

Paired with: wakewizi vai

wakewide vii it cooks easily, cooks fast

Paired with: wakewizo vai

wakewigidaazo vai s/he gets mad easily

wakewingwashi vai s/he sleeps lightly

wakewizi vai s/he or it (animate) is weak, is fragile, is frail

Paired with: wakewan vii

wakewizo vai it (animate) cooks easily, cooks fast

Paired with: wakewide vii

wakeyaabaso vai s/he is easily affected by the smoke

wanagek na bark (of a tree); a piece of bark

wanagekogamig ni a bark lodge

wanagim vta miscount h/

Paired with: wanagindan vti

wanagindan vti miscount, misread it

Paired with: wanagim vta

(detransitive) wanagindaaso vai s/he miscounts, misreads
wanagindaaso vai s/he miscounts, misreads

wanagoodoon vti2 hang it in the wrong direction or place

Paired with: wanagoozh vta

wanagoozh vta hang h/ in the wrong direction or place

Paired with: wanagoodoon vti2

wana'adoo vai s/he takes the wrong path or trail, loses the trail

wana'adoon vti2 take it as the wrong path

Paired with: wana'azh vta

wana'am vai2 s/he makes a mistake singing, sings the wrong song

wana'amaazo vai s/he sings a song the wrong way to h/self

wana'amii vai s/he missteps, is out of step

wana'azh vta lose h/ trail

Paired with: wana'adoon vti2

wanako'oning adv loc [BL] at the top edge or tip of a wigwam or tipi

wanakojaa'oonag ni [BL] end piece of canoe, prow

wanakojaan ni [BL] the tip of a nose

wanakonde'ogan ni the smoke hole at the top of a tipi

wanakong adv loc on the tip; on the treetop

wanakoninj ni fingertip

wanakoshkinzh ni the tip of a snout or muzzle

wanakozid ni tip of a toe or foot

wanakwaya'ii adv loc at the tip

wanakwazhiwe vai s/he gets lost paddling

wanakwaandag ni the tip of a bough

wanakwaanow adv loc at the tip of an animal's tail

wanakwaatig ni tip of a tree, end of a stick

wanashkid ni bird tail

wanashkidiigwan na a tail feather

wanashkwetaagozi vai s/he disturbs (by speech): butts in, gives conflicting advice, etc.

wanataaso vai s/he has a loss at gambling

wanawe'an vti [BL] stir it

Paired with: wanawe'wi vta [BL]

(detransitive) wanawe'ige [BL] s/he stirs (things)
(verb of use) wanawe'igaagen vai + o use (it) to stir with
(derived noun) wanawe'igan ni [BL] something used to stir or mix with: a stirring stick, an eggbeater, a mixer
wanawe'igan ni [BL] something used to stir or mix with: a stirring stick, an eggbeater, a mixer

wanawe'igaagen vai + o use (it) to stir with

wanawe'ige [BL] s/he stirs (things)

wanawe'wi vta [BL] stir h/

Paired with: wanawe'an vti [BL]

wanaweweba'an vti [BL] whisk it

wanaweweba'ige vai s/he whisks something
wanaweweba'ige vai s/he whisks something

wanaabam vta lose sight of h/

Paired with: wanaabandan vti

wanaabandan vti lose sight of it

Paired with: wanaabam vta

wanaabidoo'an vti make a mistake beading it on a loom

(detransitive) wanaabidoo'ige vai s/he makes a mistake beading things on a loom
wanaabidoo'ige vai s/he makes a mistake beading things on a loom

wanaabika'ige vai s/he mistypes something

wanaabikin vta set h/ (machine, clock) wrong, put h/ in the wrong gear

Paired with: wanaabikinan vti

wanaabikinan vti set it (machine) wrong, put it in the wrong gear

Paired with: wanaabikinan vti

(detransitive) wanaabikinige vai s/he sets something (machine) wrong, strips the gears
wanaabikinige vai s/he sets something (machine) wrong, strips the gears

wanaabizo vai s/he is blinded by light

wanaabizwi vta [BL] dazzle, blind h/ with light

wanaadad vii [BL] it is spoiled, is ruined, is destroyed

Paired with: wanaadizi vai [BL]

wanaadagaa vai s/he swims in the wrong direction

wanaadakokwesin vii it spoils in the pot or kettle

wanaadizi vai [BL] it (animate) is spoiled, is damaged

Paired with: wanaadad vii [BL] See also: banaadizi vai

wanaaji' vta [BL] spoil, ruin, damage h/

Paired with: wanaajitoon vti2 [BL] See also: banaaji' vta

wanaajimaagozi vai it (animate) smells spoiled

Paired with: wanaajimaagwad vii

wanaajimaagwad vii it smells spoiled

Paired with: wanaajimaagozi vai

wanaajimaam vta find h/ smells rotten

Paired with: wanaajimaandan vti

wanaajimaandan vti find it smells rotten

Paired with: wanaajimaam vta

wanaajimo vai s/he makes a mistake telling a story

(applicative) wanaajimotaw vta make a mistake in telling a story to h/
wanaajimotaw vta make a mistake in telling a story to h/

wanaajisin vii [BL] it spoils

Paired with: wanaajishin [BL] See also: banaajisin vii

wanaajishin [BL] s/he spoils

Paired with: wanaajisin vii [BL] See also: banaajishin vai

wanaajitoon vti2 [BL] spoil, ruin, destroy it

Paired with: wanaaji' vta [BL] See also: banaajitoon vti2

wanaakosidoon vti2 set it (something stick-like) wrong

wanaanimizi vai s/he is confused, is in shock, is scared witless

wanendam vai2 s/he forgets

wanendamookaazo vai s/he pretends to forget

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.