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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

gibitawage vai s/he has a plugged ear or plugged ears

gibitawagen vta block h/ ears

gibitaada'e vai s/he stops skating

gibitaanagidoone vai s/he stops talking; s/he stops gabbing

gibitaanimad vii the wind stops, dies down

gibitose vai s/he stops walking

gibitoode vai s/he stops crawling

gibitwewebizo vai it (animate) is heard to stop running or operating

gibiiga'an vti shut it (as something sheet-like: a curtain, drapes, cloth partition)

(derived noun) gibiiga'igan ni a curtain, drapes (verb of undergoing) gibiiga'igaade vii it is shut (by someone), "they" shut it (a curtain)
gibiiga'igan ni a curtain, drapes

gibiiga'iganiigin ni a window shade

gibiiga'igaade vii it is shut (by someone), "they" shut it (a curtain)

gibode vii it cooks in the oven, bakes

Paired with: gibozo vai

gibodoonh na a button

gibogwaadan vti sew it shut

Paired with: gibogwaazh vta

gibogwaade vii it is sewn shut

Paired with: gibogwaazo vai

gibogwaazh vta sew h/ shut

Paired with: gibogwaadan vti

gibogwaazo vai s/he is sewn shut

Paired with: gibogwaade vii

giboj pc disc dummy; stupid

gibokiwasan vti glue it shut; tape it shut

(verb of undergoing) gibokiwasigaade vii it is glued shut (by someone), "they" glue it shut (verb of undergoing) gibokiwasigaazo vai s/he is glued shut (by someone), "they" glue it shut
gibokiwasigaade vii it is glued shut (by someone), "they" glue it shut

gibokiwasigaazo vai s/he is glued shut (by someone), "they" glue it shut

gibokiwaswi vta [NI]

gibokobaa vii it is blocked with brush, is overgrown with brush

giboz vta cook it (animate) in the oven, bake it (animate)

Paired with: gibozan vti

gibozan vti cook it in the oven; bake it

Paired with: giboz vta

(detransitive) gibozige vai s/he bakes things; s/he roasts things in the oven
gibozhaazo vai s/he pees in h/ clothes

gibozigan ni something put into the oven; a roasting pan

gibozigan na bread baked in the oven, yeast bread

giboziganaabik ni a roasting pan

gibozige vai s/he bakes things; s/he roasts things in the oven

gibozigwadin vii it is frozen shut

Paired with: gibozigwaji vai

gibozigwaji vai s/he is frozen shut

Paired with: gibozigwadin vii

gibozo vai it (animate) cooks in the oven, bakes

Paired with: gibode vii

gibozwi vta

► giboz vta

giboobidoon vti2 pull it shut; zip it up

Paired with: giboobizh vta

(derived noun) giboobijigan ni something used to pull things shut: a drawstring, a zipper
giboobijigan ni something used to pull things shut: a drawstring, a zipper

giboobijiganeyaab ni a drawstring

giboobinidizo vai s/he zips h/ self up

giboobizh vta pull h/ shut

Paired with: giboobidoon vti2

(reflexive) giboobinidizo vai s/he zips h/ self up
giboodiyegwaazon na [ML] (a pair of) pants

See also: giboodiyegwaazon ni [N]

giboodiyegwaazon ni [N] (a pair of) pants

See also: giboodiyegwaazon na [ML]

giboogwaadan vti sew it shut

Paired with: giboogwaazh vta

giboogwaazh vta sew h/ shut

Paired with: giboogwaadan vti

gibwanaabaawe vai s/he drowns

gibwanaamode vii it is full of smoke

Paired with: gibwanaamozo vai

gibwanaamoz vta smoke h/ out

gibwanaamozo vai s/he suffocates from smoke

Paired with: gibwanaamode vii

gibwashkosiwagaa vii it is blocked with grass, is overgrown with grass

gibwaakwaa vii it is blocked with trees, is overgrown with trees

gibwaam nid your thigh (back of thigh)

gichi- pv lex very, quite; big; great

See also: chi- pv lex

gichi-ajina adv tmp in a very short while, in a very little while

gichi-anishinaabe na an elder; a mature person

(verb of being) gichi-anishinaabewi vai s/he is a mature person, is an elder
(derived noun) gichi-anishinaabewiwin ni senior citizen status; elderhood
gichi-anishinaabewi vai s/he is a mature person, is an elder

gichi-anishinaabewiwin ni elderhood; senior citizen status

gichi-aniibiish ni a cabbage

gichi-apiitendaagozi vai s/he is highly respected, is valuable, is important

Paired with: gichi-apiitendaagwad vii

gichi-apiitendaagwad vii it is highly respected, is valuable, is important

Paired with: gichi-apiitendaagozi vai

gichi-aya'aa na an adult, an elder

(verb of being) gichi-aya'aawi vai s/he is an adult, is an elder
gichi-aya'aawi vai s/he is an adult, is an elder

gichi-aya'aawinaagozi vai s/he looks like an old person

gichi-badaka'igan ni a roasting fork

gichi-besho adv loc very close, a short distance

gichi-bine na [RL] a turkey

[
wild turkey
; 
Meleagris gallopavo
]

gichi-biima'igan ni [BL] a wrench

gichi-desinaagan ni a platter

gichi-dibaakonigewinini na a judge, a lawyer

gichi-doodooshaabo ni [BL] cheese

gichi-emikwaan ni a ladle

gichi-emikwaanens ni [BL] a tablespoon

gichi-enigok adv deg really hard, with great force or effort

gichi-gigizheb adv tmp early in the morning

gichi-gikinoo'amaagewikwe na a school superintendent (female)

gichi-gikinoo'amaagewinini n a school superintendent (male)

gichi-gizhizo vai s/he has pneumonia

gichi-gizhizowin ni pneumonia

gichi-giishkiboojigan ni a two-man cross-cut saw

gichi-izhiwebad vii it is stormy

gichi-manidoo na great spirit, god

gichi-manidoo-giizis na January

gichi-miikana ni a highway

gichi-mookomaan na
  1. a white person
  2. an American

gichi-mookomaan ni a large knife: a butcher knife, a machete

gichi-mookomaan-aki ni United States

gichi-mookomaan-ikwe na an American woman

gichi-mookomaanikwe na a white woman

(verb of being) gichi-mookomaanikwewi vai s/he is a white woman
gichi-mookomaanikwewi vai s/he is a white woman

gichi-mookomaanimo vai s/he speaks English

gichi-mookomaaniwi vai s/he is a white man; s/he is a white person,

gichi-nemaab na [RL] a bowling ball

gichi-niibowa adv qnt a whole lot, very much

gichi-noodin vii it is very windy, is stormy

gichi-odaabaan na [BL] a bus

gichi-ogimaa na the highest leader: a head boss, a president, a king

(verb of being) gichi-ogimaawi vai s/he is the highest leader: a head boss, a president, a king
gichi-ogimaakwe na the highest female leader: a head boss, a president, a queen

(verb of being) gichi-ogimaakwewi vai she is the the highest leader: a head boss, a president, a queen; she is the wife of the highest leader
gichi-ogimaakwewi vai she is the the highest leader: a head boss, a president, a queen; she is the wife of the highest leader

gichi-ogimaawi vai s/he is the highest leader: a head boss, a president, a king

gichi-ogin na a tomato

gichi-oginii-naboob ni tomato soup

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.