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biisibizh vta break h/ into small pieces with hands; crumble h/

Paired with: biisibidoon vti2

biisibiisaa vii there is light rain, drizzle; it is drizzling

See also: biisibiisaan vii [BL]

biisibiisaan vii [BL] there is light rain, drizzle; it is drizzling

See also: biisibiisaa vii

biisiboodamaw vta grind, mill, grate (it) for h/

biisiboode vii it is ground, milled, grated; it is sawn into small pieces

Paired with: biisiboozo vai

biisiboodoon vti2 grind, mill, grate it; saw it into small pieces

Paired with: biisiboozh vta

biisiboodamaw vta grind, mill, grate (it) for h/ (detransitive) biisiboojige vai s/he grinds, mills, grates something (derived noun) biisiboojigan na corn meal (derived noun) biisiboojigan ni a grinder, a mill
biisiboojigan na corn meal

biisiboojigan ni a grinder, a mill

biisiboojiganaaboo na cornmeal soup

biisiboojigani-bakwezhigan na [BL] johnnycake

biisiboojigani-bakwezhiganens na [BL] a cornmeal muffin

biisiboojige vai s/he grinds, mills, grates something

biisiboozh vta grind, mill, grate h/; saw h/ into small pieces

Paired with: biisiboodoon vti2

biisiboozo vai s/he is ground, milled, grated; s/he is sawn into small pieces

Paired with: biisiboode vii

biisiga' vta chop h/ into kindling

Paired with: biisiga'an vti

biisiga'an vti chop it into kindling

Paired with: biisiga' vta

biisiga'isaan ni kindling wood

biisiga'ise vai s/he makes kindling

biisiga'wi vta [NI]

► biisiga' vta

biisigwaashkwani vai s/he takes a little jump

biisikodan vti cut, carve it to fine pieces

Paired with: biisikozh vta

biisikozh vta cut, carve h/ into fine pieces

Paired with: biisikodan vti

biisiminagad vii it (something round) ) is fine, is tiny

Paired with: biisiminagizi vai

biisiminagizi vai s/he (something round) is fine, is tiny

Paired with: biisiminagad vii

biisipon vii there is fine snow falling, powder snow falling

biisitaagan ni a bubble

biisiwebinige vai s/he dances with fast steps, fiddles fast

biisiwebinige-nagamon ni a song for a jingle-dress dance

biisizh vta cut h/ into small pieces, dice h/

Paired with: biisizhan vti

biisizhan vti cut it into small pieces, dice it

Paired with: biisizh vta

biisizi vai s/he is fine; s/he is in particles

Paired with: biisaa vii

biisizhwi vta

► biisizh vta

biiswewebiisaan vii there is the sound of light rain, of drizzle

biiswewigwane vai s/he has fluffy feathers

biisweyiigin ni [BL] flannel

biitagoode vai s/he puts on h/ dress

biitakizine vai [BL] s/he puts on h/ moccasins or shoes

biitawagoodaan ni a slip

biitawagoode vai she wears one dress under another, wears a slip

biitawaya'ii adv loc in between layers

biitawazhaan ni an extra blanket on top

biitawazhe vai s/he has another blanket on

(causative) biitawazhe' vta add another layer of blankets to h/
biitawazhe' vta add another layer of blankets to h/

biitawazhigane vai s/he has another pair of socks on

biitazhigane vai s/he puts on h/ socks

biitaagime vai s/he puts snowshoes on

biite ni foam

(verb of being) biitewan vii it is foamy
biitewan vii it is foamy

biitewaaboo ni beer

biitewaagamin vii it is foamy liquid

biitewidoone vai s/he has foam at the mouth

biitoo- pv lex as a layer

biitoo-babagiwayaan ni an undershirt

See also: biitoo-bagiwayaan ni [BL]

biitoo-bagiwayaan ni [BL] an undershirt

See also: biitoo-babagiwayaan ni

biitoo-giboodiyegwaazon na a pair of underpants

biitoo-midaasens ni [BL] (a pair of) panties

biitoobidoon vti2 split it into layers with hands

Paired with: biitoobizh vta

biitoobizh vta split h/ into layers with hands

Paired with: biitoobidoon vti2

biitoogamaa vii it is a lake parallel to or above another

biitoogamig ni [BL] a porch

biitoogwaadan vti sew a lining in it

(detransitive) biitoogwaajige vai s/he lines (things) biitoogwaajigan ni something sewn in as a liner or lining or with a liner or lining: liner, lining, moccasin liner, quilt with lining
biitoogwaade vii it has a lining sewn in

biitoogwaajigan ni something sewn in as a liner or lining or with a liner or lining: liner, lining, moccasin liner, quilt with lining

biitoogwaajige vai s/he lines (things)

biitookizin ni an overshoe

biitookizinaan ni an overshoe

biitookizine vai s/he wears overshoes

(derived noun) biitookizinaan ni an overshoe
biitookonaye vai s/he wears layers (as underwear)

biitoomagooday ni [BL] a slip

See also: biitoomagoodaas ni [BL]

biitoomagoodaas ni [BL] a slip

Paired with: biitoomagooday ni [BL]

biitoon vti2 wait for it

Paired with: bii' vta

biitoonigan ni [BL] a sandwich

biitoonigan na a glove or mitt liner

biitoosidoon vti2 put it in between as a layer

Paired with: biitooshim vta

(derived noun) biitoosijigan na a pie
biitoosijigan na a pie

biitoosijigani-bakwezhigan na a pie

See also: biitoosijigan na

biitoosin vii it lies in a layer

Paired with: biitooshin vai

biitooshim vta put h/ in between as a layer

biitooshin vai s/he lies in a layer

Paired with: biitoosin vii

biitooshkigan ni (an item of) underwear

biitoozh vta slice a piece off h/, it(animate)

Paired with: biitoozhan vti

biitoozhamaw vta slice a piece off (it) for h/

biitoozhan vti slice a piece off it

Paired with: biitoozh vta ; biitoozhwi vta [NI]

biitoozhamaw vta slice a piece off (it) for h/
biitoozhwi vta [NI]

► biitoozh vta

biitwanagekobidoon vti2 peel a layer of bark off it

biitwaabaawadoon vti2 rinse it

Paired with: biitwaabaawazh vta

biitwaabaawazh vta rinse h/

Paired with: biitwaabaawadoon vti2

biitwegizhigewikomaan ni [BL] a filleting knife

biiwam vta eat h/ leaving crumbs

Paired with: biiwandan vti

biiwan vii it is a blizzard

biiwandan vti eat it leaving crumbs

Paired with: biiwam vta

(detransitive) biiwanjige vai s/he eats leaving crumbs
biiwanjigan ni crumb or scrap dropped from the mouth

biiwanjige vai s/he eats leaving crumbs

biiwaabik ni (a piece of) metal; iron

(verb of being) biiwaabikowan vii it is metal, of metal (verb of being) biiwaabikowi vai s/he is metal, of metal
biiwaabiko-adaawewigamig ni a hardware store

See also: biiwaabikwadaawewigamig ni

biiwaabiko-bakizhigan ni a wirecutter

biiwaabiko-jiimaan ni an aluminum canoe

biiwaabiko-miikana ni a train track

biiwaabiko-moona'igan ni an iron mine

biiwaabiko-moozhwaagan ni tinsnips, metal shears

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.