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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

giimoodanoozo vai s/he smokes secretly, sneaks a smoke

giimoodaajim vta tell about h/ secretly

giimoodaajimo vai s/he tells something secretly

(applicative) giimoodaajimotaw vta tell something secretly to h/ (derived noun) giimoodaajimowin ni a secret
giimoodaajimotaw vta

giimoodaajimowin ni a secret

giimoodaanagidoon vai [C] s/he mumbles

giimoodaapi vai s/he laughs secretly

giimoodaapi' vta laugh at h/ secretly

giimoodaasige vai s/he shines deer secretly

giimoodishkiiwikwe na a thief (female)

giimoodoode vai s/he creeps, secretly crawls

giimoodwewe'akokwe vai s/he drums secretly

giimooj adv man secretly, in secret, stealthily

giimooj igo adv man in secret

See also: giimooj adv man

giimooji- pv lex secretly, in secret, stealthily

giimoojibizo vai s/he drives secretly

giimoojichige vai s/he does something secretly

giimoojigidaazo vai s/he is secretly angry

giimoojikazh vta sneak away from h/

giimoojitaa vai s/he does something secretly

giimoojitoon vti2 do something to, make it secretly

giimoojiwidoon vti2 secretly take, carry it

Paired with: giimoojiwizh vta

giimoojiwizh vta secretly take, carry h/

Paired with: giimoojiwidoon vti2

giimoozaabam vta look at h/ secretly; peek, peep at h/

Paired with: giimoozaabandan vti

giimoozaabandan vti look at it secretly; peek, peep at it

Paired with: giimoozaabam vta

giimoozaabi vai s/he peeks, peeps, spys

giimoozikaw vta sneak up on h/

(detransitive) giimoozikaage vai s/he sneaks up on people
giimoozikaage vai s/he sneaks up on people

giimoozitaw vta eavesdrop on h/

giin pron per you [singular]

See also: gaye giin pron per ; gegiin pron per

giineta pron per only you, just you [singular] giinitam pron per your turn, you next [singular]
giinag nid your penis

giinawaa pron per you [plural]

See also: gaye giinawaa pron per ; gegiinawaa pron per

giinetawaa pron per only you, just you [plural] giinitamawaa pron per your turn, you next [plural]
giinawind pron per we, us

See also: gaye giinawind pron per ; gegiinawind pron per

giinetawind pron per only we, only us; just us (inclusive) giinitamawind pron per our turn, us next [inclusive]
giinaa vii it is sharp

Paired with: giinizi vai

giinaabide vai s/he has a sharp tooth or sharp teeth

giineta pron per only you, just you [singular]

giinetawaa pron per only you, just you [plural]

giinetawind pron per only we, only us; just us (inclusive)

giingoo na [RL] a fish

See also: giigoonh na

giiniboode vii it is sharpened (by filing or sawing)

Paired with: giiniboozo vai

giiniboodoon vti2 sharpen it (by filing or grinding)

Paired with: giiniboozh vta

(derived noun) giiniboojigan ni pencil sharpener
giiniboojigan ni pencil sharpener

giiniboozh vta sharpen h/ (by filing or grinding)

Paired with: giiniboodoon vti2

giiniboozo vai s/he is sharpened (by filing or sawing)

giinim nad (if you are male) your sister-in-law; (if you are female) your brother-in-law

giinimoshenh nad your cross-cousin (of the opposite sex to you): your mother's brother's child, your father's sister's child ; your sweetheart

giinindib nid your brain

giinitam pron per your turn, you next [singular]

giinitamawaa pron per your turn, you next [plural]

giinitamawind pron per our turn, us next [inclusive]

giinizi vai s/he is sharp

Paired with: giinaa vii

giinizis nid your (strand of) hair

giinzob nid your gall bladder

giipanagekozi vai s/he (a tree) has scaly bark

giipanowe vai [LLC] s/he has chapped cheeks

giipininjii vai s/he has a chapped hand or chapped hands

giipizide vai s/he has a chapped foot or chapped feet

giipiingwe vai s/he has a chapped face

giishkada'an vti chop it off

(derived noun) giishkada'igan ni a cleaver
giishkada'igan ni a cleaver

giishkadaawangaa vii it is a sand bank

giishkadaawangaa'an vii the waves make a sand bank

giishkadinaa vii it is a cliff, is a steep bank

giishka' vta chop h/ off

Paired with: giishka'an vti

giishka'an vti chop it off

Paired with: giishka' vta

giishka'aakwe vai s/he cuts timber

giishka'aakwewigamig ni a lumber camp

giishka'aakwewinini na a logger, a lumberjack

giishka'isaan ni cut firewood

giishka'ise vai s/he cuts firewood

(derived noun) giishka'isaan ni cut firewood
giishkakamigaa vii it is a bank or steep face of earth

giishkam vta bite through h/ cleanly

Paired with: giishkandan vti

giishkanakad ni a stump

giishkanakadosag na a tree broken off at the top

giishkanaamo vai h/ breath is cut short

giishkandan vti bite through it cleanly

Paired with: giishkam vta

giishkanokii vai s/he finishes a job, retires from work

giishkashkimod ni a cedar bark bag

giishkashkosiwezhigani-moozhwaagan ni (a pair of) garden shears

giishkaabaagwe vai s/he is thirsty

giishkaabikaa vii it is a steep rock face

giishkaagonagaa vii it is a snow bank

giishkaagone'igan ni a snow bank made by a plow

giishkaamikaa vii there is a drop-off

giishkaanakwagoode vii it is a cloud bank

giishkaanowe vai s/he has a cut-off tail

giishkaanowebizh vta break off h/ tail (with hands)

giishkaanowezh vta cut h/ (animal) tail off

giishkaanowezhwi vta [BL]

► giishkaanowezh vta

giishkaazhibikaa vii there is a rock cliff

giishkibidoon vti2 tear it off

Paired with: giishkibizh vta

(detransitive) giishkibijige vai s/he tears things off (verb of undergoing) giishkibijigaade vii it is torn off (by someone), "they" tear it off (verb of undergoing) giishkibijigaazo vai s/he is torn off (by someone), "they" tear h/ off
giishkibijigaade vii it is torn off (by someone), "they" tear it off

giishkibijigaazo vai s/he is torn off (by someone), "they" tear h/ off

giishkibijige vai s/he tears things off

giishkibizh vta tear h/ off

Paired with: giishkibidoon vti2

giishkiboodaw vta saw (it) off for h/

giishkiboodoon vti2 saw it off

Paired with: giishkiboozh vta

giishkiboodaw vta saw (it) off for h/ (detransitive) giishkiboojige vai s/he saws things off (derived noun) giishkiboojigan ni a cross-cut saw
giishkiboojigan ni a cross-cut saw

giishkiboojiganaak ni [BL] a saw horse; framing member of a Swede saw (bow saw, buck saw)

giishkiboojiganeyaab ni a saw chain

See also: bimibidewi-giishkiboojiganeyaab ni

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.