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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

aajim vta tell a story of h/

Paired with: aadodan vti

aajimodakwe vai s/he tells a war story

aajinike' vta link arms with h/; hook arms with h/

(reciprocal) aajinike'odiwag vai they link arms with each other
aajinike'odiwag vai they link arms with each other

aajiningwa'on ni a crutch

aajisag adv loc in the next room

aajizide'on ni [ML] a cradleboard footrest

aajizide'onaak ni a cradleboard footrest

aakomaagozi vai s/he stinks, smells acrid

Paired with: aakomaagwad vii

aakomaagwad vii it stinks, smells acrid

Paired with: aakomaagozi vai

aakomaam vta find h/ stinks, smells acrid

Paired with: aakomaandan vti

aakomaandan vti find it stinks, smells acrid

Paired with: aakomaam vta

aakomaasige vai s/he spreads a stink, an acrid smell by cooking of burning something

aakomaaso vai s/he stinks, smells acrid cooking or burning

Paired with: aakomaate vii

aakomaate vii it stinks, smells acrid cooking or burning

Paired with: aakomaaso vai

aakoshkade vai s/he has a stomachache

aakozi vai s/he is sick, is ill

(verb of pretending) aakoziikaazo vai s/he pretends to be sick (derived noun) aakoziwin ni a sickness, an illness, a disease
(verb of abundance) aakoziwinikaa vii there is (a lot of) sickness
aakozin vai + o s/he is sick in (it)

aakoziwin ni a sickness, an illness, a disease

aakoziwinikaa vii there is (a lot of) sickness

aakoziikaazo vai s/he pretends to be sick

aakoziishkaw vta make h/ sick (something consumed) [inv]

aakoziiwendaagozi vai s/he is thought sickly

aakoziiwidaabaan na an ambulance

See also: aakoziiwidaabaan ni [RL]

aakoziiwidaabaan ni [RL] an ambulance

See also: aakoziiwidaabaan na

aakoziiwigamig ni a hospital

aakoziiwinaagozi vai s/he looks sickly

aakwaadizi vai s/he is fierce

aakwaagamide vii it (liquid) is extremely hot

aakwaagamin vii it is a strong drink

aakwaapine vai s/he is in severe pain, is severely ill

aakwaasige vai s/he shines bightly

aakwendam vai2 s/he has intense feelings, is in intense pain

aama' vta abuse, injure, damage h/: be mean to, be aggressive toward h/; chase h/ away by harshness

aamanasimo vai s/he (dog) is in heat

aamiwag vai they spawn

aamoo na a bee, a wasp

(verb of abundance) aamookaa vii there are (many) bees, wasps
aamoo-wadiswan ni a bee hive, a wasp nest

aamoo-ziinzibaakwad ni honey

aamoo-zhiiwaagamizigan ni honey

aamookaa vii there are (many) bees, wasps

aana- pv tns [N] in vain; without result; in spite of

See also: aano- pv tns [S]

aanak na a thrush

aanakwad ni a cloud

aanapii adv tmp when?

aanapiish adv tmp when?

aanawendan vti find it unsatisfactory, dislike, reject it

Paired with: aanawenim vta

(detransitive) aanawenjige vai s/he finds things unsatisfactory, dislike, rejects things
aanawendaagozi vai s/he is found unsatisfactory, is disliked, is rejected

Paired with: aanawendaagwad vii

aanawendaagwad vii it is found unsatisfactory, is disliked, is rejected

Paired with: aanawendaagozi vai

aanawenim vta find h/ unsatisfactory, dislike, reject h/

Paired with: aanawendan vti

aanawenimo vai s/he thinks h/ self unworthy, incapable, unable

aanawenjige vai s/he finds things unsatisfactory, dislike, rejects things

aanawewizi vai s/he is inadequate, is ineffective, fails

aanawi adv man although; anyhow; but; despite

aandabi vai s/he changes h/ seat

(causative) aandabi' vta make h/ change h/ seat
aandabi' vta make h/ change h/ seat

aandadowe vai s/he (animal) changes its coat, its fur

aandagim vta count h/ over

Paired with: aandagindan vti

aandagindan vti count it over

Paired with: aandagim vta

aandagoode vai she puts on another dress, changes her dress

aandagoodoon vti2 hang it someplace else; rehang it

Paired with: aandagoozh vta

aandagoozh vta hang h/ someplace else; rehang h/

Paired with: aandagoodoon vti2

aandakidoon vti2 stick it in a new place; transplant it

Paired with: aandakizh vta

aandakizh vta stick h/ in a new place; transplant h/

Paired with: aandakidoon vti2

aandakizine vai s/he puts on another pair of shoes, changes h/ shoes

aandakii vai s/he lives, moves somewhere else (in a different territory or country); s/he moves to the spirit world

aandanjige vai s/he changes h/ way of eating, changes h/ diet

aandanokii vai s/he changes jobs, gets a new job

aandapakwe vai s/he changes the wigwam cover or roof, puts a new roof on

aandapidoon vti2 retie it

Paired with: aandapizh vta

aandapizh vta retie h/; rewrap h/

Paired with: aandapidoon vti2

aandashkimaazh vta relace h/ (a snowshoe)

aandazhigane vai s/he puts on another pair of socks, changes h/ socks

aandaabikibijige vai [BL] s/he shifts gears

aandaabikijigan ni remote control

aandaabikinan vti shift the gears on it

(detransitive) aandaabikinige vai s/he shifts gears (derived noun) aandaabikinigan ni a gear shift
aandaabikinigan ni a gear shift

aandaabikinige vai s/he shifts gears

aandaadizooke vai s/he tells a legend over

aandaajimo vai s/he tells a story over

aandaakonan vti change the law on it; give it a new ruling

(detransitive) aandaakonige vai s/he changes something decided on (a plan, rule, a law, a policy)
aandaakonige vai s/he changes something decided on (a plan, rule, a law, a policy)

aandaakonigewin ni a change to something decided on (a plan, a rule, a law, a policy), a resolution

aandaanziye' vta change h/ diaper

aandeg na a crow

[
American crow
; 
Corvus brachyrhynchos
]

(verb of abundance) aandegokaa vii there are (many) crows
aandego-giizis na [BL] March

aandego-miigwan na a crow feather

aandegokaa vii there are (many) crows

aandegwazison ni [BL] a crow's nest

aandi adv inter where?

See also: aandi go adv loc ; aaniindi adv inter

aandi go adv loc anywhere; wherever

aandikwewe vai s/he has a new girlfriend or female partner

aandin vta change the grip on h/; change the way h/ is handled

Paired with: aandinan vti

aandinan vti change the grip on it; change the way it is handled

Paired with: aandin vta

aangawizi vai [BL] [N] s/he is gentle, is tame

See also: waangawizi vai [S]

aangodinong adv tmp occasionally; sometimes

aangwaamas adv tmp finally, after a long time

aanikanootamaw vta translate (it) for h/

aanikanootamaage vai s/he translates, interprets for (people)

aanikanootan vti translate, interpret it

Paired with: aanikanootaw vta

(benefactive) aanikanootamaw vta translate (it) for h/

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.