Search the dictionary Advanced Search

How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

zhaashaaginigaade vai s/he is bare-legged

zhaashaaginizide vai s/he is barefoot

zhaashaaginizidebatoo vai s/he runs barefoot

zhaashaagwam vta chew on, gnaw h/

See also: zhaashaagwandan vti

zhaashaagwamikiwe vai s/he chews gum

zhaashaagwandan vti chew it

Paired with: zhaashaagwam vta

(detransitive) zhaashaagwanjige vai s/he chews things
zhaashaagwanjige vai s/he chews things

zhaashaawanibiisens na a martin

[
Purple martin
; 
Progne subis
]

zhaashaawanibiisi na a swallow

zhaawani- pv lex south

zhaawani-noodin na south wind

zhaawani-noodin vii there is a south wind

zhaawanong adv loc in, to, from the south

zhaawanoowinini na someone from the south: a Mexican

zhaazhiibaayaamikaa vii there are tunnels, passages, or trenches in the bottom (of a body of water)

zhaazhiibigaadeni vai s/he stretches h/ legs

zhaazhiibinikeni vai s/he extends h/ arms out (repeatedly)

zhebaa adv tmp this morning (just past)

zhede na a pelican

[
American White Pelican
; 
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
]

See also: azhede na [RL]

zhegon vta stick h/ in a tight place, insert h/

Paired with: zhegonan vti

zhegonamaw vta stick (it) in a tight place for h/, insert (it) for h/

zhegonan vti

Paired with: zhegon vta

(detransitive) zhegonige vai s/he sticks things in a tight place, inserts things (benefactive) zhegonamaw vta stick (it) in a tight place for h/, insert (it) for h/ (verb of undergoing) zhegonigaade vii it is stuck in a tight place (by someone), "they" stick it in a tight place (verb of undergoing) zhegonigaazo vai s/he or it (animate) is stuck in a tight place (by someone), "they" stick h/ or it (animate) in a tight place
zhegonigaade vii it is stuck in a tight place (by someone), "they" stick it in a tight place

zhegonigaazo vai s/he or it (animate) is stuck in a tight place (by someone), "they" stick h/ or it (animate) in a tight place

zhegonige vai s/he sticks things in a tight place, inserts things

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.

  • Audio recordings
  • Images
  • Video
  • Documents

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.