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ajidakiise vai s/he suddenly falls on ground head first, keels over

ajidakiiwebin vta throw h/ on the ground head first

Paired with: ajidakiiwebinan vti

ajidakiiwebinan vti throw it on the ground head first

Paired with: ajidakiiwebin vta

ajidamoo na a red squirrel

[
American red squirrel
; 
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
]

ajidamoo-miikana ni a squirrel trail

ajidamoo-nagwaagan ni a squirrel snare

ajidamoowayaan na a squirrel hide

ajidaandawe vai

ajidaandawebatoo vai

ajidin vta hold h/ upside down

Paired with: ajidinan vti

ajidinan vti hold it upside down

Paired with: ajidin vta

(detransitive) ajidinige vai s/he holds, turns things upside down (verb of undergoing) ajidinigaade vii it is held, turned upside down (by someone), "they" hold, turn it upside down (verb of undergoing) ajidinigaazo vai s/he is held, turned upside down (by someone), "they" hold, turn h/ upside down
ajidinigaade vii it is held, turned upside down (by someone), "they" hold, turn it upside down

ajidinigaazo vai s/he is held, turned upside down (by someone), "they" hold, turn h/ upside down

ajidinige vai s/he holds, turns things upside down

ajijaak na a sandhill crane

[
sandhill crane
; 
Grus canadensis
]

See also: ojijaak na [BL]

ajijibizo vai s/he falls head first, takes a dive head first

ajijigaabawi vai s/he stands with h/ head down, stands on h/ head

ajijishim vta put h/ face down, put h/upside down

ajijiwebin vta throw or fling h/ or it (animate) upside down; flip, turn h/ or it (animate) upside down quickly

Paired with: ajijiwebinan vti

ajijiwebinan vti throw or fling it upside down; flip or turn it upside down quickly

Paired with: ajijiwebin vta

ajijiingwese vai s/he falls on h/ face

ajina adv tmp a little while

akakanzhe ni charcoal, coals, coal

(verb of abundance) akakanzhekaa vii there are (a lot of) coals (verb of making) akakanzheke vai s/he makes charcoal
akakanzhebwe vai s/he cooks, roasts, grills something on the coals

akakanzhebwen vai + o cook it on the coals, grill it

akakanzhekaa vii there are (a lot of) coals

akakanzheke vai s/he makes charcoal

akakojiish na a woodchuck, a groundhog

[
Marmota monax
]

Paired with: akakwijiishi na

akakojiishi na a woodchuck, a groundhog

[
Marmota monax
]

See also: akakojiish na

akakojiishiwaazh ni a woodchuck (groundhog) den or burrow

akakwijiishi na a woodchuck, a groundhog

[
Marmota monax
]

See also: akakojiishi na

akakwijiishiwaazh ni a woodchuck (groundhog) den or burrow

See also: akakojiishiwaazh ni

akamaw vta lie in wait for, ambush h/

akandamoo na a banana; root of water plant sp.

akandoo vai s/he lies in wait, ambushes, posts for game (using a hunting stand or blind) fold)

(derived noun) akandoowin ni a hunting stand or scaffold, a blind akandoowaagan ni a hunting stand or scaffold, a blind
akandoowaagan ni a hunting stand or scaffold, a blind

akandoowin ni a hunting stand or scaffold, a blind

See also: akandoowaagan ni ; mitigo-akandoowin ni

akawaabam vta wait in watch for h/, expect h/ to come

Paired with: akawaabandan vti

akawaabandan vti wait in watch for it, expect it to come

Paired with: akawaabam vta

akawaabi vai s/he waits in watch, expects

akawaa' vta wait for h/ (to do something)

Paired with: akawaatoon vti2

akawaatoon vti2 wait for it (to happen, to do something)

Paired with: akawaa' vta

akawe adv tmp first (in a time sequence), first of all; for now

akawishibe vai s/he lies in wait for ducks in a blind

(derived noun) akawishibewin ni a duck blind
akawishibewin ni a duck blind

akaan ni grease made by boiling marrow bones

ake vai s/he boils bones to make grease from the marrow

akeyaa adv loc in the direction of, in that way

See also: inagakeyaa adv deg [RL]

aki ni
  1. earth, land, ground
  2. a country, a territory
  3. moss

(verb of being) akiiwan vii it is the earth, is land (verb of being) akiiwi vai s/he or it (animate) is muddy, has earth or moss on h/ or it (verb of abundance) akiikaa vii there is (a lot of) dirt, earth, land (verb of possession) odakiimi vai s/he has land
akik na
  1. a container, usually of metal, for cooking or for holding liquids: a kettle, a pot, a pan, a pail, a bucket
  2. an engine, a motor

(verb of making) akikoke vai s/he makes kettles, pots, pans, or pails akikoons na an outboard motor (verb of possession) odakiko vai s/he has a kettle, pot, pan, or pail
akikaandag na [ML] a jack pine

[
Pinus banksiana
]

See also: okikaandag na

akikoke vai s/he makes kettles, pots, pans, or pails

akikoons na an outboard motor

akina adv qnt [S] all, every

See also: gakina adv qnt

akina awiya pron indf [ML]

See also: gakina awiya pron indf

akina gegoo pron indf [ML] everything, all of them (a set of things)

See also: gakina gegoo pron indf

akiwenzii na an old man

(verb of being) akiwenziiyiwi vai he is old, is an old man
akiwenzii-ziinzibaakwad ni [BL] an artificial sweetener

akiwenziiyiwi vai he is old, is an old man

akii-mazina'igan ni a map

akiikaa vii there is (a lot of) dirt, earth, land

akiiwan vii it is the earth, is land

akiiwe-wiigiwaam ni an earth lodge

akiiwi vai s/he or it (animate) is muddy, has earth or moss on h/ or it

Paired with: akiiwan vii

akiiwigamig ni a sod house

ako pc asp used to; it was the custom to...

► iko pc asp See also: iko pc asp ; ko pc asp

ako- pv rel a certain length; as far as; as long as; since

akobii vii it has liquid up to a certain level

Paired with: akobii vai

akobii vai it (animate) has liquid up to a certain level; s/he is so far into the water

Paired with: akobii vii

akobiiyaa vii it (water) extends so high or far

akogamaa vii it (a lake) is so long

akogwaadan vti sew it so far

Paired with: akogwaazh vta

akogwaade vii it is sewn so far

Paired with: akogwaazo vai

akogwaashkwani vai s/he jumps so far

akogwaazh vta sew it (animate) so far

Paired with: akogwaadan vti

akogwaazo vai it (animate) is sewn so far

Paired with: akogwaade vii

akojaane vai h/ nose is so long

See also: akwaakojaane vai

akongwashi vai s/he falls asleep sitting with h/ head dropping down, nods off

akonike vai h/ arm is so long; s/he is up so far on h/ arm

See also: akwaakonike vai

akoo' vta make it (animate; string-like) a certain length or so long (by hand)

Paired with: akootoon vti2

akoonagad vii it (a boat) is a certain length, is so long

Paired with: akoonagizi vai

akoonagizi vai it (animate; vehicle) is so long

Paired with: akoonagad vii

akoosagad vii it (useful wood) is a certain length, is so long

akoosagaa vii it (a floor or room) is so long

akooshkinachige vai [N]

akooshkinatoon vti2 [N] fill it so high, so far (with solids)

(detransitive) akooshkinachige vai [N]
akooshkine vii [N] it is filled so high, so far (with solids)

akootoon vti2 make it a certain length, make it so long

Paired with: akoo' vta

akoozi vai s/he is a certain length, is a certain height, is so long, is so tall

Paired with: akwaa vii

akwadaawangaa vii the beach goes so far, is so long; a stretch of sand goes so far, is so long

akwa'am vai2 s/he goes so far into the water, is up to such a place (on h/ body) in the water

akwa'waa vai [ML] s/he fishes through the ice with spear

akwa'we vai [RL] s/he fishes through the ice with spear

See also: akwa'waa vai [ML]

akwa'wewigamig ni [ML] a fish house for spearing

akwa'wewinini na [ML] a ice fisherman (who uses a spear)

akwamon vii it (road or trail) is a certain length, is so long

akwanaabaawe vai s/he is out of air in the water, runs out of breath in the water

akwanaamo vai s/he is short of breath, takes short breaths

akwanaandamwaabaawe vai

akwashkinatoon vti2 [BL] fill it to a certain depth

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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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.