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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

dootooban vii it is springy ground

dootookaabiigibidoon vti2 jerk, tug it (string-like) repeatedly (with hands)

dootookaabiigishkan vti jerk, tug it (string-like) repeatedly (with foot or body)

dootookaabiigiwebinan vti tug and tug on it (as or on a line)

dwaabide vii it drives through ice

Paired with: dwaabizo vai

dwaabizo vai s/he drives through the ice

Paired with: dwaabide vii

dwaa'ibaan ni a hole made in the ice for water

dwaa'ibii vai s/he makes a water hole in the ice

(derived noun) dwaa'ibaan ni a hole made in the ice for water
dwaa'ige vai s/he makes a hole in the ice

dwaashin vai s/he falls through the ice

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.