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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

zhiibiigitaa vai s/he stretches (h/ body)

zhiigaa na a widow, a widower

(verb of being) zhiigaawi vai she is a widow, he is a widower
zhiigaawi vai she is a widow, he is a widower

zhiigon vta empty h/

Paired with: zhiigonan vti

zhiigonamaw vta empty (it) for h/

zhiigonan vti empty it

Paired with: zhiigon vta

(benefactive) zhiigonamaw vta empty (it) for h/ (detransitive) zhiigonige vai s/he empties things (verb of undergoing) zhiigonigaade vii it is emptied (by someone), "they" empty it (verb of undergoing) zhiigonigaazo vai it (animate) is emptied (by someone), "they" empty it (animate)
zhiigonigaade vii it is emptied (by someone), "they" empty it

zhiigonigaazo vai it (animate) is emptied (by someone), "they" empty it (animate)

zhiigonige vai s/he empties things

zhiigonike vai s/he has a thin arm or thin arms

zhiigoninjii vai s/he has skinny fingers

zhiigoshkigan ni (an item of) discarded clothing

zhiigoshkigani-adaawewigamig ni a second-hand clothing store

zhiigozh vta cut it (animate) up

Paired with: zhiigozhan vti

zhiigozhan vti cut it up

(derived noun) zhiigozhigan ni a carcass
zhiigozhigan ni a carcass

zhiigoojiin vta deflate h/

Paired with: zhiigoojiinan vti

zhiigoojiinan vti deflate it

Paired with: zhiigoojiin vta

zhiigwanaabik na a grindstone

zhiigwanaabikoons na a whetstone

zhiigwaabaawadoon vti2 get it soaking wet

Paired with: zhiigwaabaawazh vta

zhiigwaabaawazh vta get h/ soaking wet

Paired with: zhiigwaabaawadoon vti2

zhiigwaabaawe vai s/he or it (animate) is soaked, is soaking wet

Paired with: zhiigwaabaawe vii

zhiigwaabaawe vii it is soaked, is soaking wet

Paired with: zhiigwaabaawe vai

zhiingendan vti dislike, disapprove of, hate it

Paired with: zhiingenim vta

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.