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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

gaawam vta be jealous of h/

gaaway na a porcupine quill

gaawaa vii it is rough (in texture), is prickly

Paired with: gaawizi vai

gaawaabikad vii it is rough (as something mineral)

Paired with: gaawaabikizi vai

gaawaabikizi vai s/he is rough (as something mineral)

Paired with: gaawaabikad vii

gaawaandag na a white spruce

[
Picea glauca
]

See also: mina'ig na [BL]

gaawe vai s/he is jealous

(verb of addiction) gaaweshki vai s/he is always jealous
gaawegad vii it is rough (as something sheet-like)

Paired with: gaawegizi vai

gaawegizi vai s/he is rough (as something sheet-like)

Paired with: gaawegad vii

gaawendam vai2 s/he is jealous

gaawesaa pc disc impossible!, no way!, can't be done!

gaaweshki vai s/he is always jealous

gaawizi vai s/he is rough

Paired with: gaawaa vii

gaawiin adv neg no, not

See also: gaawiin awiya pron indf ; gaawiin ganage adv man ; gaawiin gegoo pron indf ; gaawiin geyaabi adv tmp ; gaawiin giiyaabi adv tmp [RL] ; gaawiin ingodinoo pc disc ; gaawiin mashi adv tmp ; gaawiin ningoji adv loc ; gaawiin wiikaa adv tmp

gaawiin awiya pron indf anybody; nobody, no one

gaawiin aapiji adv deg not very

See also: aapiji adv deg

gaawiin ganabaj adv man I don't think that...

See also: ganabaj adv man

gaawiin ganage adv man not in the least; in no way; not even

gaawiin geget adv phr sure not, really not

gaawiin gegoo pron indf anything; nothing

gaawiin geyaabi adv tmp no more, no longer, not any more

gaawiin giiyaabi adv tmp [RL] no longer; not any more

gaawiin ingodinoo pc disc I don't care; forget about it; no matter; it's okay that...

gaawiin ingoji adv loc not anywhere; nowhere

See also: gaawiin ningoji adv loc

gaawiin mashi adv tmp not yet

See also: gaa mashi adv tmp

gaawiin memwech adv man it's not necessary, you don't have to

See also: gego memwech adv pred ; memwech adv man

gaawiin ningoji adv loc not anywhere; nowhere

See also: gaawiin ingoji adv loc

gaawiin wiikaa adv tmp never

See also: gaa wiikaa adv tmp

gaazh vta hide h/

Paired with: gaadoon vti2

gaazhage vai s/he is greedy

gaazhagens na a cat

(verb of possession) ogaazhagensimi vai s/he has a cat or cats
gaazo vai s/he hides h/ self

(applicative) gaazootaw vta hide from h/
gaazootaw vta hide from h/

gaazootaadiwag vai they hide from each other

ge adv conj also; as for, also, too, and; too

ge- pv tns future tense (in changed conjunct verbs)

gebaakwa'ond na-v a prisoner

ged- pv tns

► ge- pv tns

gegabe-giizhik adv tmp all day every day

gegapii adv tmp after a while, eventually, finally

gegaa adv deg nearly, almost

gegaa go adv deg nearly, almost

See also: gegaa adv deg

geget adv man sure, certainly, really, indeed

See also: gaawiin geget adv phr

gegiin pron per as for you [singular]; you too [singular]

See also: gaye giin pron per

gegiinawaa pron per you too [plural]; as for you [plural]

See also: gaye giinawaa pron per

gegiinawind pron per as for us; us too; we too

See also: gaye giinawind pron per

gego adv neg don't

gego bina adv gram just don't

gego ganage adv man don't in any way

gego mashi adv tmp don't ... yet

gego memwech adv pred you don't have to

See also: gaawiin memwech adv man ; memwech adv man

gego wiikaa adv tmp don't ever

gegoo pron indf something, anything

See also: gaawiin gegoo pron indf ; gakina gegoo pron indf

gekek na a hawk

gekinoo'amawind na-v a student

gekinoo'amaaged na-v a teacher

gemaa adv conj or, or maybe

See also: gemaa gaye adv man

gemaa gaye adv man or maybe

genapii adv tmp finally

geniin pron per I too; me too; as for me

See also: gaye niin pron per

geniinawind pron per as for us; us too; we too

See also: gaye niinawind pron per

genwaabiigigwed na-v a giraffe

genwaakwak apabiwin ni-v a couch

geshawapide vii

Paired with: geshawapizo vai

geshawapidoon vti2 tie it loosely

Paired with: geshawapizh vta

geshawapizh vta tie h/ loosely

Paired with: geshawapidoon vti2

geshawapizo vai

Paired with: geshawapide vii

geshawigaabawi vai s/he stands limp

geshawise vai s/he suddenly comes loose

Paired with: geshawise vii

geshawise vii

Paired with: geshawise vai

geshawisidoon vti2 put it to so it is loose

Paired with: geshawishim vta

geshawisin vii it is loose, fit loosely

Paired with: geshawishin vai

geshawishim vta put h/ so h/ is loose

Paired with: geshawisidoon vti2

geshawishin vai s/he is loose, fits loosely

Paired with: geshawisin vii

geshawishkan vti fit it loosely

Paired with: geshawishkaw vta

geshawishkaw vta fit h/ loosely

Paired with: geshawishkan vti

gete- pv lex old; old-time

gete-anishinaabe na an Indian of long ago; a person of long ago; an elder

gete-aya'aa na someone old

gete-aya'ii ni something old

gete-ayi'ii ni something old

gete-ozhibii'igan ni the old testament of the bible

getenaagozi vai s/he [an animate thing] looks old, appears old

Paired with: getenaagwad vii

getenaagwad vii it looks old, appears old

Paired with: getenaagozi vai

geteyaajimo vai s/he tells stories about the old times

geteyaajimotaw vta tell stories about the old times to h/

gewiin pron per as for her; as for him; he too; her too; him too; she too

See also: gaye wiin pron per

gewiinawaa pron per as for them; them too; they too

See also: gaye wiinawaa pron per

geyaabi adv tmp still, yet

See also: gaawiin geyaabi adv tmp ; giiyaabi adv tmp [RL]

gezhidine adv tmp right away

gezika adv tmp suddenly

gezikaw vta catch up to, overtake h/

gezikawaabam vta catch sight of h/

Paired with: gezikawaabandan vti

gezikawaabandan vti catch sight of it

Paired with: gezikawaabam vta

gezikwendam vai2 s/he barely remembers

gezikwendan vti barely remember it

Paired with: gezikwenim vta

gezikwenim vta barely remember h/

Paired with: gezikwendan vti

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

gibabi vai s/he sits blocking the way

gibadoonh na a button

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.