Search the dictionary Advanced Search

How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

niiskaadad vii es
Listen

it is bad weather



niiskaadad 0s ind; niiskaadak 0s conj; naaskaadak 0s ch-conj; Stem: /niiskaadad-/

niiskaadad0s ind rg
Listen

es
Listen

niiskaadak0s conj rg
Listen

es
Listen

gaawiin niiskaadasinoon0s ind neg rg
Listen

Giishpin ningwakwak, wiiba wii'-niiskaadad. 

If it clouds over, nasty weather is coming soon.
 nj
Listen

Wanakong agoozi aandeg. Ganabaj wii'-niiskaadad.

The crow is sitting on the top of a tree. He's telling us that wet weather is coming.
 nj
Listen

niiskaadad /niiskaadad-/: /niisk-/
messy, disturbed, disordered, troublesome, nasty
; /-aad-/
way of being or life; one's character or nature
; /-ad/
it is in a state or condition

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.

  • 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.