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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

giizhoote vii it is warm inside

giizhootoon vti2 warm it

giizhooyaa vii it is warm

Paired with: giizhoozi vai

giizhooyaanimad vii it is a warm wind

giizhoozi vai s/he is warm [person]

Paired with: giizhooyaa vii

giizhoozide vai s/he has warm feet

giizhwewetoo vai s/he finishes praying or telling a legend

giizhwewidam vai2 s/he finishes sounding

go pc disc [emphatic word]

goda pc emph [emphatic word]

godagi' vta make h/ suffer, be cruel to h/

godagitoo vai s/he suffers

godagitoon vti2 abuse, damage, injure it

godagii vai s/he goes visiting

goda'aakwaadan vti practice shooting at, take a pot shot at it

Paired with: goda'aakwaazh vta

goda'aakwaazh vta take a pot shot at h/

Paired with: goda'aakwaadan vti

goda'aakwe vai s/he tries out a gun, takes a pot shot

(applicative) goda'aakwaadan vti practice shooting at, take a pot shot at it (applicative) goda'aakwaazh vta take a pot shot at h/
goda'e vai s/he practices shooting

godakii'ige vai s/he tests how deep the water is

godam vta sample, taste h/; take a taste of h/

Paired with: godandan vti

godandan vti sample, taste it; take a taste of it

Paired with: godam vta

godaada'e vai s/he practices skating

godaagamandan vti try, test it (a liquid) by mouth

godaagaminan vti test it (a liquid) with the hand

godigogaadeshin vai s/he falls and sprains h/ leg

godigonikeshin vai s/he falls and sprains h/ arm

godigoninjiishin vai s/he falls and sprains h/ hand or finger

godigoshin vai s/he falls and sprains something

godigozide vai s/he sprains h/ foot

godigozideshin vai s/he falls and sprains h/ foot

godikwa'igaagen vai + o s/he uses (it) to test the ice

godikwa'ige vai s/he checks the ice to see how thick it is

godin vta test h/ with hand

Paired with: godinan vti

godinan vti test it with hand

Paired with: godin vta

godotaagan ni a bell

goji- pv lex attempt; try

goji-nagamo vai s/he practices singing

gojibatoo vai s/he makes a trial run

gojibidoon vti2 try, test it out with hands

Paired with: gojibizh vta

gojibinidiwag vai they wrestle each other

gojibizh vta try h/ out with hands

Paired with: gojibidoon vti2

(reciprocal) gojibinidiwag vai they wrestle each other
gojibizotoon vti2 run a test on it (machine), test drive it

gojichigaade vii it is tried out (by someone), "they" try it out

gojichigaazo vai s/he is tried out (by someone), "they" try h/ out

gojichige vai s/he tries things, practices

goji' vta try h/ out; try making h/

Paired with: gojitoon vti2

goji'ewizi vai s/he tries, makes an effort

gojimaam vta sniff, take a smell of h/

Paired with: gojimaandan vti

(reciprocal) gojimaandiwag vai they sniff, take a smell of each other
gojimaandan vti sniff, take a smell of it

Paired with: gojimaam vta

(detransitive) gojimaanjige vai s/he sniffs, takes a smell
gojimaandiwag vai they sniff, take a smell of each other

gojimaanjige vai s/he sniffs, takes a smell

gojimaas vta try smoking it (animate)

gojip vta sample, taste h/; take a taste of h/

Paired with: gojipidan vti

gojipidan vti sample, taste it; take a taste of it

Paired with: gojip vta

(detransitive) gojipijige vai s/he samples, takes a taste of something
gojipijige vai s/he samples, takes a taste of something

gojipwi vta [NI]

► gojip vta

gojisagishkan vti try, test it (floor) out with foot or body

gojitamaw vta test (it) for h/

See also: gojitaw vta

gojitaw vta test (it) for h/

See also: gojitamaw vta

gojitoon vti2 try it out

Paired with: goji' vta

(benefactive) gojitaw vta test (it) for h/ (benefactive) gojitamaw vta test (it) for h/ (detransitive) gojichige vai s/he tries things, practices (verb of undergoing) gojichigaade vii it is tried out (by someone), "they" try it out (verb of undergoing) gojichigaazo vai s/he is tried out (by someone), "they" try h/ out
gokeyaw ni bait

(verb of making) gokeyawike vai s/he makes bait, baits something
gokeyawikaadan vti bait it gokeyawikaagen vai use it for bait
gokeyawikaadan vti bait it

gokeyawikaagen vai use it for bait

gokeyawike vai s/he makes bait, baits something

gokokwaa vii it is tippy

gomaa adv deg some amount; to a middling degree

gomaapii adv deg for some time, some distance

gondan vti swallow it

Paired with: gonzhi vta

gondaabiigin vta put h/ in water, dip h/

gondaabiiginan vti put it in water, dip it

Paired with: gondaabiigin vta

gonige adv pred I wonder if; I wonder whether; could you

gonzaabii vii it sinks (in the water)

Paired with: gonzaabii vai

gonzaabii vai s/he sinks (in the water)

Paired with: gonzaabii vii

gonzaabii' vta sink h/ (using something)

Paired with: gonzaabii'an vti

gonzaabii'an vti sink it (using something)

Paired with: gonzaabii' vta

gonzaabii'wi vta [NI]

► gonzaabii' vta

gonzaabiishkoodoon vti2 sink it with weight or pressure

gonzaabiishkoojigan ni [BL] something used to hold things down in the water: an anchor, a trap weight, a sinker (fishing tackle)
gonzaabiishkoojigan ni [BL] something used to hold things down in the water: an anchor, a trap weight, a sinker (fishing tackle)

gonzaabiiyaabogo vai s/he sinks in the rapids

gonzaabiiyaaboode vii it sinks in the rapids, in the current

gonzhi vta swallow h/

Paired with: gondan vti

gopa'adoo vai s/he follows a trail inland

gopa'azh vta follow h/ trail inland

gopamon vii it (road or trail) leads inland

gopaawadaaso vai s/he hauls a load inland

gopaawadoon vti2 haul it inland

Paired with: gopaawazh vta

gopaawazh vta haul it (animate) inland

Paired with: gopaawadoon vti2

gopiba'idiwag vai they run inland together

gopiba'igo vai s/he rides inland, drives inland (drawn by horse or dog)

gopiba'iwe vai s/he runs inland from someone

gopibatoo vai s/he runs inland

gopibatwaadan vti run it inland

gopibide vii it drives up from the water

Paired with: gopibizo vai

gopibizo vai s/he drives inland, into the woods, into the bush

Paired with: gopibide vii

gopibizo' vta drive h/ inland, into the woods, into the bush

Paired with: gopibizotoon vti2

gopibizotoon vti2 drive it inland, into the woods, into the bush

Paired with: gopibizo' vta

gopidaabii vai s/he drags or pulls a load inland, into the woods, into the bush

gopidaabii'iwe vai s/he drives inland, into the woods, into the bush; s/he drives a team inland, into the woods, into the bush

gopigozi vai s/he moves (h/ camp or residence) inland, moves (h/ camp or residence) off the lake

gopikawe vai s/he leaves tracks going inland

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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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.