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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

zhiiba'ataanaak ni stretcher for pelt

zhiiba'wi vta stretch it (animate) out on a fur stretcher

zhiibaji vai s/he can withstand the cold, endures the cold

zhiiban vii it is tough, strong

Paired with: zhiibizi vai

zhiibanaabaawe vai s/he is able to hold breath under water

zhiibanaamo vai s/he has strong respiration, is long-winded

zhiibanaamwaabaawe vai

zhiibanaandam vai2 s/he can go without eating, can endure being hungry

zhiibaa- pv lex (in the space) under something

zhiibaa-adoopowinaak adv loc [BL] under a table

zhiibaa-giizis adv loc in the sky between the horizon and the sun

zhiibaa-minis between two islands

zhiibaa-nibewin adv loc under the bed

zhiibaabaso vai s/he can withstand the smoke

zhiibaabaagwe vai s/he endures thirst, doesn't get thirsty easily

zhiibaabizo vai s/he or it (animate) drives through a passage

zhiibaajiwan vii it flows through a tunnel or passage

See also: gaa-izhi-zhiibaajiwang ni-v

zhiibaakwa' vta stretch it (animate) out on a fur stretcher

zhiibaakwa'ataan ni a flat hide stretcher (especially for muskrats)

zhiibaakwazhiwe vai s/he paddles under something; s/he paddles through a channel

zhiibaangwashi vai s/he takes a quick nap

zhiibaapine vai s/he endures suffering, can withstand pain

zhiibaashka'igan ni a jingle

zhiibaashka'igani-magoodaas ni [BL] a jingle dress

zhiibaaweba' vta knock h/ under something

Paired with: zhiibaaweba'an vti

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.