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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

wanendamaa vai s/he faints, passes out

wanendamookaazo vai s/he pretends to forget

wanendan vti forget, ignore it

Paired with: wanenim vta

(verb of undergoing) wanenjigaade vii it is forgotten (by someone), "they" forget it
wanenim vta forget, ignore h/

Paired with: wanendan vti

wanenjigaade vii it is forgotten (by someone), "they" forget it

wani- pv lex making a mistake, mistakenly, in error

wanibagizo vai s/he missteps in dancing

wanibatoo vai s/he runs the wrong way

wanibizo vai s/he gets lost driving

wanibii'an vti make a mistake writing it

(detransitive) wanibii'ige vai s/he makes a mistake writing something (verb of undergoing) wanibii'igaade vii
wanibii'igaade vii

wanibii'ige vai s/he makes a mistake writing something

wanichigaade vii it is lost (by somone), "they" lose it; it is made wrong (by someone), "they" make it wrong

wanichigaazo vai s/he or it (animate) is lost (by someone), "they" lose h/ or it (animate)

wanichige vai s/he makes a mistake, makes things wrong

wanigiizhwe vai s/he makes a mistake speaking, mispronounces something

wanigwaadan vti make a mistake sewing it

Paired with: wanigwaazh vta

wanigwaade vii it is sewn wrong

Paired with: wanigwaazo vai

wanigwaaso vai s/he makes a mistake sewing

wanigwaazh vta make a mistake sewing h/

Paired with: wanigwaadan vti

wanigwaazo vai it (animate) is sewn wrong

Paired with: wanigwaade vii

wani' vta lose, miss h/

Paired with: wanitoon vti2

(reciprocal) wani'idiwag vai they lose each other, miss finding each other
wani'aawaso vai s/he loses a child (from death)

wani'idiwag vai they lose each other, miss finding each other

wanim vta mislead, confuse h/ (by speech)

(reciprocal) wanindiwag vai they mislead, confuse, fool each other
wanimikoons ni a bud

(verb of abundance) wanimikoonsikaa vii [BL] there are (a lot of) buds
wanimikoonsikaa vii [BL] there are (a lot of) buds

wanimo vai s/he makes a mistake in speaking, mispronounces something

wanin vta take, touch h/ (the wrong one)

Paired with: waninan vti

waninamaw vta hand wrong one of something to h/

waninan vti hold, take, touch it the wrong way or the wrong one

Paired with: wanin vta

(benefactive) waninamaw vta hand wrong one of something to h/
waninawe'an vti stir it

See also: wanawe'an vti [BL]

(derived noun) waninawe'igan ni something used to stir or mix with: a stirring stick, an eggbeater, a mixer
waninawe'igan ni something used to stir or mix with: a stirring stick, an eggbeater, a mixer

See also: wanawe'igan ni [BL]

wanindiwag vai they mislead, confuse, fool each other

wanisidoon vti2 misplace it

Paired with: wanishim vta

wanisin vii it is lost, gets lost

Paired with: wanishin vai

wanishim vta

Paired with: wanisidoon vti2

wanishin vai s/he is lost, gets lost

Paired with: wanisin vii

wanishkwe' vta disturb, distract, interrupt h/

(reciprocal) wanishkwe'idiwag vai they disturb, distract, interrupt each other
wanishkwe'idiwag vai they disturb, distract, interrupt each other

wanishkwem vta disturb, distract, interrupt h/ (by speech)

wanishkweyendam vai s/he is distracted

wanitam vai2 s/he misunderstands something heard

wanitaw vta misunderstand (what) h/ (says)

wanitoon vti2 lose, miss it

Paired with: wani' vta

(detransitive) wanichige vai s/he makes a mistake, makes things wrong (verb of undergoing) wanichigaade vii it is lost (by somone), "they" lose it; it is made wrong (by someone), "they" make it wrong (verb of undergoing) wanichigaazo vai s/he or it (animate) is lost (by someone), "they" lose h/ or it (animate)
wanizhan vti cut it wrong; miscut it; make a mistake cutting it

wanizekwe vai s/he makes a mistake cooking

wanizhwi vta [NI] cut it (animate) wrong; miscut it (animate); make a mistake cutting it (animate)

Paired with: wanizhan vti

wanii'amaw vta trap (for) h/

wanii'igan ni a trap

wanii'ige vai s/he traps

wanii'ige-mazina'igan ni [BL] a trapping license

See also: wanii'ige-mazina'igaans ni [ML]

wanii'ige-mazina'igaans ni [ML] a trapping license

See also: wanii'ige-mazina'igan ni [BL]

wanii'ige-waakaa'igaanzhish ni a trapping cabin

wanii'igesi na [BL] a trapper

wanii'igewaki ni a trapline

wanii'igewikwe na

wanii'igewinini na a trapper

waniikaadan vti forget it, forget about it

Paired with: waniikaazh vta

waniikaazh vta forget h/ or it (animate), forget about h/ or it (animate)

Paired with: waniikaadan vti

waniike vai s/he forgets

(applicative) waniikaadan vti forget it, forget about it (applicative) waniikaazh vta forget h/ or it (animate), forget about h/ or it (animate)
waniiken vai + o s/he forgets (it)

waniikese vai s/he suddenly forgets; it slips h/ mind

waniiwizi vai s/he is forgetful, forgets

wanwewe'akokwe vai s/he makes a mistake drumming

wanwewese vai [BL] s/he hiccoughs, hiccups

wapaa' vta disturb h/ sleep

wapii adv tmp at that time

wasitaawinaagozi vai s/he looks unhappy, sorrowful, uncomfortable

washkadamon vii it (a road or trail) bends, curves

washkakwazhiwe vai s/he makes a turn paddling

washkaadagaa vai s/he turns back swimming

washkaadage vai [BL] s/he turns around swimming

See also: washkaadagaa vai

washkibagizo vai s/he quickly turns

washkibatoo vai s/he turns and runs

washkibide vii it makes a turn speeding, driving, flying

Paired with: washkibizo vai

washkibizo vai s/he or it (animate) makes a turn speeding, driving, flying

Paired with: washkibide vii

washkigaabawi vai s/he turns while standing

washkigiiwe vai s/he turns and goes back

washkikaa vai s/he suddenly changes directions, changes h/ course

washkitigweyaa vii it (a river) flows around a bend

wawaabijiiyaabi vai s/he has grey eyes

wawaabishe'o vai the sun has sun dogs

wawaabishkaabide vai s/he has all white teeth

wawaabishkitawage vai s/he has white ears

wawaaga'amii vai s/he walks bow-legged

wawaagigaade vai s/he is bow-legged

wawaagizide vai s/he is pigeon-toed

wawaagizide'amii vai s/he walks pigeon-toed

wawaagizidekawe vai s/he leaves pigeon-toed tracks

wawaanendam vai2 s/he doesn't know what to do or think, is dumbfounded

wawaasaabizo vai h/ eyes shine

wawaasese vii there is lightning

wawaashkitigweyaa vii it is a winding river

wawaawashkamon vii it is a winding road or trail

wawaawashkaakozi vai it (stick-like, animate) is crooked, is a crooked tree

wawaawashkaakwad vii it (stick-like) is crooked, is a crooked stick

Paired with: wawaawashkaakozi vai

wawenabi vai s/he is sits down, stays seated; s/he makes a place for h/ self to sit

wawepizo vai a/he dresses up

wawezhichigaade vii it is decorated (by someone), "they" decorate it

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.