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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

g= pf you [the one or ones spoken to; the second person]; your [the one or ones spoken to; the second person]

ga- pv tns future tense

See also: gad- pv tns

gabadoo vai s/he goes over a portage

gabadoodaabii'iwe vai s/he drives over a portage

gabadoowin ni portaging

gabaya'ii adv loc [RL] for a long time

See also: gabeya'ii adv tmp

gabaa vai s/he gets off (a vehicle or boat), disembarks

(causative) gabaa' vta get h/ off, let h/ off (a vehicle or boat), help h/ disembark
gabaabatoo vai s/he gets off [a boat or vehicle] running

gabaachigan ni [BL] something boiled

gabaachiganamik na [BL] a boiled beaver

gabaagwaashkwani vai s/he jumps off or out [of a boat or vehicle]

gabaa' vta get h/ off, let h/ off (a vehicle or boat), help h/ disembark

Paired with: gabaatoon vti2

gabaanaazha' vta tell h/ to get off, tell h/ to disembark

gabaanizha' vta tell h/ to get off a vehicle or boat

gabaashim vta cook h/ (by boiling)

Paired with: gabaatoon vti2

gabaatoon vti2 cook it (by boiling)

Paired with: gabaashim vta

(derived noun) gabaachigan ni [BL] something boiled
gabaatoon vti2 take it off a boat

Paired with: gabaa' vta

gabaawebin vta throw h/ off a boat or vehicle

Paired with: gabaawebinan vti

gabaawebinan vti throw it off a boat or vehicle

Paired with: gabaawebin vta

gabaawebishkan vti kick, shove it off a vehicle or boat (with foot or body)

Paired with: gabaawebishkaw vta

gabaawebishkaw vta kick, shove h/ off a vehicle or boat (with foot or body)

Paired with: gabaawebishkan vti

gabe- pv lex throughout; whole extent of

gabe-ayi'ii adv loc a long time; throughout it

gabe-biboon adv tmp all winter

gabe-dagwaagi adv tmp all fall

gabe-dibik adv tmp all night

gabe-gikendaasoowigamig ni a college, a university

gabe-giizhig adv tmp all day

See also: gabe-giizhik adv tmp

gabe-giizhik adv tmp all day

See also: gabe-giizhig adv tmp

gabe-ishkwaa-naawakwe adv tmp all afternoon

gabe-niibin adv tmp all summer

gabe-onaagosh adv tmp all evening

See also: gabenaagosh adv tmp

gabe-zhebaa adv tmp all morning

gabe-ziigwan adv tmp all spring

gabedibikwe vai s/he spends the whole night

gabekana adv loc at the end of the road or trail

gabenaw vta beat, defeat h/ (in a game)

(detransitive) gabenaage vai s/he scores, wins (in a game)
gabenaage vai s/he scores, wins (in a game)

gabenaagosh adv tmp all evening

See also: gabe-onaagosh adv tmp

gabeshi vai s/he camps, sets up camp

(derived noun) gabeshiwin ni a campsite, a camp
gabeshiwin ni a campsite, a camp

gabeshkan vti go to the end of it; complete it

gabeshkaa vai s/he goes, comes to the end

gabeya'ii adv tmp for a long time

See also: gabaya'ii adv loc [RL]

gabeyaaboono vai s/he slides all the way (on some medium such as water or snow)

gabikan vti pass it

Paired with: gabikaw vta

gabikaw vta pass h/

Paired with: gabikan vti

(detransitive) gabikaage vai s/he passes (people)
gabikaage vai s/he passes (people)

gabikooba' vta run past h/

gabikooshimo vai s/he dances past someone

gad- pv tns future tense

► ga- pv tns

gadiskaapi vai s/he can't hold back h/ laughter, break out in laughter

gagagwejim vta keep asking h/

gaganoonidiwag vai they talk to each other, have a conversation

gaganoozh vta talk to h/, have a conversation with h/

gagaanjinawe' vta irritate, provoke, tease h/

(detransitive) gagaanjinawe'iwe vai s/he irritates, provokes, teases people
gagaanjinawe'iwe vai s/he irritates, provokes, teases people

gagaanjinawem vta irritate, provoke, tease h/ (by speech)

(reciprocal) gagaanjinawendiwag vai they irritate, provoke, tease each other (by speech)
gagaanjinawendiwag vai they irritate, provoke, tease each other (by speech)

gagaanjinawenge vai s/he teases, irritates, harasses people (by speech)

gagaanoganzhii vai s/he has long nails, claws

gagaanonagweyaa vii it has long sleeves

gagaanooziwag vai they are tall, are long

gagaanwa'amii vai s/he takes long steps

gagaanwaabide vai s/he has long teeth

gagaanwaabiigadoon vii they (something string-like) are long

gagaanwaabiigi- pv lex long and stringy (especially plural)

gagaanwaabiigi-bakwezhigan na spaghetti

gagaanwaabiigitawage vai s/he has long floppy ears

gagaanwaakoganzhii vai s/he has long nails or claws

gagaanwaakogaade vai s/he has long legs

gagaanwaakonike vai s/he has long arms

gagaanwaakoninjii vai s/he has long hands, long fingers

gagaanwaakozide vai s/he has long feet

gagaanwaakozidekawe vai s/he leaves long-footed tracks

gagaanwaakoziwag vai they (something animate and stick-like) are long

Paired with: gagaanwaakwadoon vii

gagaanwaakwadoon vii they (something stick-like) are long, are tall

Paired with: gagaanwaakoziwag vai

gagaanwaanikwe vai s/he has long hair

gagaanwaawan vii they are long

Paired with: gagaanooziwag vai

gagaanzitam vai2 s/he disobeys instructions

gagaanzitan vti disobey it

Paired with: gagaanzitaw vta

gagaanzitaw vta act contrary to h/ instructions

Paired with: gagaanzitan vti

gagaanzom vta persuade, urge, encourage, convince h/

gagaashaabide vai [BL] s/he has a sharp tooth or sharp teeth

gagaashiganzhii vai s/he has sharp nails or claws

gagaawinaweyendaagozi vai s/he is a stubborn pest, is hateful

gagijiganezh vta debone it (animate)

gagijiganezhwi vta [NI]

► gagijiganezh vta

gagizhiibidooskwan vai h/ elbows itch

gagizhiibigaade vai s/he has itchy legs

gagizhiibinike vai h/ arms itch

gagizhiibininjii vai h/ hands itch

gagizhiibitawage vai h/ ears itch

gagiiba'an vti seal it up

gagiiba'oge vai s/he chinks a dwelling repeatedly (by filling gaps between logs or sticks with moss or mud)

gagiibanagaskwe vai s/he stutters

gagiibaadad vii it is foolish, is silly

Paired with: gagiibaadizi vai

gagiibaadaanagidoon vai [S] s/he talks crazy, talks nonsense

See also: gagiibaadaanagidoone vai [N]

gagiibaadaanagidoone vai [N] s/he talks crazy, talks nonsense

gagiibaadaatese vii it is a funny movie, is a comedy

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.

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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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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.