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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

zhiibaayoode vai s/he crawls under something, crawls though a passage

zhiibaazigwa'asabii vai s/he sets a net under the ice

zhiibendam vai2 s/he is strong-willed, has strength of mind

zhiibibii vai s/he doesn't get drunk easily

zhiibidenaniweni vai s/he stretches out h/ tongue

zhiibidooneni vai s/he puckers h/ lips

zhiibigaadeni vai s/he stretches h/ leg

zhiibigwebi vai s/he sits craning h/ neck

zhiibigweni vai s/he stretches h/ neck

zhiibinibiketaw vta shake h/ hand, extend your hand (in greeting) to h/

zhiibinikeni vai s/he extends h/ arm out

zhiibizi vai it (animate) is tough, is strong

Paired with: zhiiban vii

zhiibii vai s/he stretches (h/ body)

zhiibiiga' vta stretch h/ (using something)

Paired with: zhiibiiga'an vti

zhiibiiga'an vti stretch it (using something)

Paired with: zhiibiiga' vta

zhiibiigibidamaw vta stretch (it) for h/ (by pulling)

zhiibiigibidoon vti2 stretch it (by pulling)

Paired with: zhiibiigibizh vta

(benefactive) zhiibiigibidamaw vta stretch (it) for h/ (by pulling) (detransitive) zhiibiigibijige vai s/he stretches things (by pulling) (verb of undergoing) zhiibiigibijigaade vii it is stretched (by someone) (by pulling), "they" stretch it (by pulling) (verb of undergoing) zhiibiigibijigaazo vai s/he is stretched (by someone) (by pulling), "they" stretch it (by pulling)
zhiibiigibijigaade vii it is stretched (by someone) (by pulling), "they" stretch it (by pulling)

zhiibiigibijigaazo vai s/he is stretched (by someone) (by pulling), "they" stretch it (by pulling)

zhiibiigibijige vai s/he stretches things (by pulling)

zhiibiigibizh vta stretch h/ (by pulling)

Paired with: zhiibiigibidoon vti2

zhiibiigise vii

zhiibiigishkaa vii it stretches (as something sheet-like)

zhiibiigishkaa-wiiwakwaan ni a stocking cap; [Canada] a toque, tuque

zhiibiigishkaawayaan ni [BL] sweater, sweatshirt

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.