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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

gizhiiyose vai s/he walks fast

gizhiiyoode vai s/he crawls fast

gii- pv tns [S] [past tense]: -ed, was, did

See also: gii'- pv tns [BL]

gii- pv tns [BL] [relative tense]: while, as

giibid nid your tooth

giichibabagiwayaane vai s/he takes off h/ shirt

giichibabiinzikawaagane vai s/he takes off h/ coat or jacket

giichigiboodiyegwaazone vai s/he takes off h/ pants

giichigobidoon vti2 pull it off

Paired with: giichigobizh vta

giichigobizh vta pull h/ off, remove h/ with hands

giichigon vta extricate h/; remove h, take h/ off (by hand)

Paired with: giichigonan vti

giichigonan vti extricate it; take it off or out

Paired with: giichigon vta

giichigotaa vai s/he works free, wiggles h/ way out

giichigwam vta pull h/ off with teeth

giichigwandan vti pull it off with teeth

Paired with: giichigwam vta

giichigwaasin vii it blows off

giichigwaashi vai h/ blows off

Paired with: giichigwaasin vii

giichikonaye vai [BL] s/he take off h/ (own) clothes; s/he undresss

giichikonaye' vta undress h/, take h/ clothes off h/,

giichiminjikaawane vai s/he takes off h/ mittens

giichiwakwaane vai s/he takes off h/ hat

giichiwiiwakwaane vai s/he takes h/ hat off

See also: giichiwakwaane vai

giige vai s/he heals up

giige' vta heal h/
(reflexive) giige'idizo vai s/he heals, cures h/self
giige' vta heal h/

giige'idizo vai s/he heals, cures h/self

giigezi s/he is saisfied

giigido vai s/he speaks; s/he phones

giigidowin ni
  1. a speech
  2. a telephone

giigidoo-biiwaabikoons ni a telephone; telephone wire

giigidoowikwe na a councillor, a council member, a representative (female)

giigidoowinini na a councillor, a council member, a representative

(verb of being) giigidoowininiiwi vai s/he is a councillor, a council member, a representative
giigidoowininiiwi vai s/he is a councillor, a council member, a representative

giigoonh na a fish

See also: giingoo na [RL]

(verb of making) giigoonyike vai s/he fishes
giigoonhwaaboo ni fish soup

giigoonhwensikaan na [BL] a fishing lure

See also: giigoonyensikaan na [BL]

giigoonhwi-bimide ni fish grease

giigoonyensikaan na [BL] a fishing lure

See also: giigoonhwensikaan na [BL]

giigoonyike vai s/he fishes

giigoonyike-mookomaan ni a fishing knife

giigoonyikewin ni the fishery, commercial fishing, fish processing

giigoonyikewinini na fisherman

giigoozens na a minnow

giigoozhens na
  1. a minnow
  2. [BL] a compass (for finding direction)

gii' vta flee, escape, get away from h/; get away from h/

gii'iwe vai s/he escapes, gets away from people
gii'- pv tns [BL] [past tense]: -ed, was, did

See also: gii- pv tns [S]

gii'igoshimo vai s/he fasts for a vision

gii'igoshimowin ni fasting

gii'iwe vai s/he escapes, gets away from people

giijikiwenh na your (a male's) brother, (male) parallel cousin, fellow man

giikadamanji'o vai s/he feels the cold, feels the chill

giikadaabaawe vai s/he is cold from being wet, is cold from being in the rain

giikadaawiganewaji vai s/he has a cool back

giikaji vai s/he feels cold

giikajijaanewaji vai s/he has a cold nose

giikajindibewaji vai h/ head is cold

giikajininjiiwaji vai s/he has cool hands

giikajitawagewaji vai s/he has cold ears

giikajizidewaji vai s/he has cold feet

giikajiingwewaji vai s/he has cold face

giikanaabas vta smoke h/ (for preservation)

Paired with: giikanaabasan vti

giikanaabasan vti smoke it (for preservation)

Paired with: giikanaabas vta

giikanaabasigan na bacon
giikanaabasigan na bacon

giikanaabaso vai s/he is smoked

giikanaabate vii it is smoked, is smokey

Paired with: giikanaabaso vai

giikanaabate-adikameg na a smoked whitefish

giikanaabate-wiiyaas ni smoked meat

giikanaamode vii it is smoky inside

giikanaamoz vta smoke h/ (for preservation)

See also: giikanaamozan vti

giikanaamozan vti smoke it (for preservation)

Paired with: giikanaamoz vta

giikanaamozigan na bacon
giikanaamozigan na bacon

giikaam vta quarrel with h/; argue with h/

(reciprocal) giikaandiwag vai they argue, quarrel with each other,
giikaandiwag vai they argue, quarrel with each other,

giikibidoon vti2 nudge it, push it forward

Paired with: giikibizh vta

giikibizh vta nudge h/, push h/ forward

Paired with: giikibidoon vti2

giikimanigaade vai h/ leg is asleep, legs are asleep; h/ leg feels numb, legs feel numb

giikimaninike vai h/ arm is asleep, arms are asleep; h/ arm feels numb, arms feel numb

giikimanininjii vai h/ hand is asleep, hands are asleep; h/ hand feels numb, hands feel numb

giikimanizi vai s/he feels numb; s/he tingles

giikimanizide vai h/ foot is asleep, feet are asleep; h/ foot feels numb, feet feel numb

giikiibingwashi vai s/he is sleepy

giimaabam vta look in at or into, peek in at h/; spy on h/

Paired with: giimaabandan vti

(reciprocal) giimaabandiwag vai they peek at each other
giimaabandan vti look at it secretly; peek, peep at it

Paired with: giimaabam vta

giimaabandiwag vai they peek at each other

giimaabi vai s/he peeks, peeps, spys

(verb of addiction) giimaabishki vai s/he is a peeping tom
giimaabishki vai s/he is a peeping tom

giimikan vti sneak up on or into it

Paired with: giimikaw vta

giimikaw vta charge h/

Paired with: giimikan vti

giiminiijaagan na child born out of wedlock

giiminiijii vai she has a child out of wedlock

(derived noun) giiminiijaagan na child born out of wedlock
giimitam vai2 s/he eavesdrops

giimitaw vta eavesdrop on h/

(reciprocal) giimitaadiwag vai they eavesdrop on each other
giimitaadiwag vai they eavesdrop on each other

giimii vai s/he sneaks away, escapes; s/he flees

giimoodad vii it is secret

giimoodadaawe vai s/he buys secretly

giimoodademo vai s/he cries secretly

giimoodam vta eat, bite h/ secretly

Paired with: giimoodandan vti

giimoodandan vti eat, bite it secretly

Paired with: giimoodam vta

(detransitive) giimoodanjige vai s/he eats things secretly
giimoodanjige vai s/he eats things secretly

giimoodanokii vai s/he works secretly, works in secret

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.