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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

Ojibwe People's Dictionary Updates

The Ojibwe People's Dictionary had its computer technology upgraded at the beginning of May. This will allow us to add words, audio clips, and new features more efficiently. If you see anything that doesn't look right or encounter any problems, contact us at <ojibwe.dictionary@gmail.com>. The audio files that didn't play on some mobile devices should now work.

Here are some of the new features to date:

  • NEWS: The NEWS tab at the right of the top bar will take you to this Ojibwe People's Dictionary Updates section and to the Ojibwe Language News section where we will post information on Ojibwe language publications and activities.
  • GLOSSES FOR WORDS THAT SHARE A WORD PART: If you tap on a word part link, you can find links to other words that use that word part. We have added the English glosses to the display of the links so it is easier to find words that match your interest.
  • BETTER FIT ON MOBILE DEVICES: Although we recommend you use the OPD on a computer with a full-size screen to take advantage of all the features, it now fits better on small screens. The panel at the right which often contains information about word families and related words will slide to the bottom of the entry on a narrow screen. Just keep scrolling down!

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.