Search the dictionary Advanced Search

How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

nibi ni nj
Listen

water



nibi sg; nibiing loc; nibiikaang loc dist; Stem: /nibyi-/

nibi sg es
Listen

nj
Listen

nibiing loc es
Listen

nibiikaang loc dist nj
Listen

ninibiim1s - 0s pos es
Listen

Anaamakamig bimaabikisin i'iw nibi.

The water line runs under the ground.
 es
Listen

Niziiginaan i'i nibi imaa omoodaying.

I'm pouring the water into a bottle.
 rg
Listen

Wegonen minikwewin eyaayan. Nitii na, nibi na, maagizhaa gaapii.

What drinks do you have? Tea? Water? Or maybe coffee?
 nj
Listen

Bapakiteyaashkaa. Waasa ombibide nibi.

The waves are hitting the rocks. The water shoots up high.
 nj
Listen

Gidaa-ningaagonasige nibi andawendaman.

You can melt snow if you need water.
 nj
Listen

Manoomin dazhigin nibiikaang. Miish bi-zaagakiimagak i'iw manoominashk, mii iwidi ishpiming ayaamagak iw manoomin endazhiging.

Wild rice grows in the water. And when the rice stalk comes up, the rice is on growing on the top.
 rg
Listen

Nibiikaang danakiiwag amikwag.

Beavers live in the water.
 nj
Listen

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.

Word Family

nibi ni water
(verb of abundance) nibiikaa vii there is (a lot of) water (verb of making) nibiike vai s/he adds water, dilutes something
(applicative) nibiikaadan vti add water or other liquid to it (animate)
(verb of being) nibiiwan vii it is wet, is watery; it is juicy (verb of being) nibiiwi vai s/he or it (animate) is wet (verb of possession) onibiimi vai s/he has water

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.