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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

naazhibizo vai s/he falls, flies down

naazibii vai [BL] s/he goes down to the water, goes after water

naazibiiba'idiwag vai they run down to the water together

naazibiiba'iwe vai s/he flees to the water

naazibiibatoo vai s/he runs down to the water

naazibiibizo vai [BL] s/he drives down to the water

naazibiibizo' vta drive h/ down to the water

Paired with: naazibiibizotoon vti2 [BL]

naazibiibizotoon vti2 [BL] drive it down to the water

Paired with: naazibiibizo' vta

naazibiidaabaadan vti drag, pull it down to the water

Paired with: naazibiidaabaazh vta

naazibiidaabaazh vta drag, pull h/ down to the water

Paired with: naazibiidaabaadan vti

naazibiidaabii vai s/he drags, pulls a load down to the water

(applicative) naazibiidaabaadan vti drag, pull it down to the water (applicative) naazibiidaabaazh vta drag, pull h/ down to the water
naazibiimon vii it (road or trail) leads to the water

naazibiinigaadan vti carry it down to the water on the shoulder

naazibiinige vai s/he carries something down to the water on the shoulder

(applicative) naazibiinigaadan vti carry it down to the water on the shoulder
naazibiiwanen vai + o s/he carries a pack down to the water

naazibiiwidaaso vai s/he hauls something down to the water

naazibiiwidoon vti2 carry, take it down to the water

Paired with: naazibiiwizh vta

naazibiiwizh vta carry, take h/ down to the water

Paired with: naazibiiwidoon vti2

naazibiiyaawanidiwag vai they go down to the water in a group

naazikamaw vta go get (it) for h/

naazikan vti go to, approach it

Paired with: naazikaw vta [N]

naazikaw vta [N] go to, aproach h/

(detransitive) naazikaage vai s/he goes to, approaches people
naazhikaa vii it goes down

naazikaage vai s/he goes to, approaches people

naazhin vta stroke, rub h/

Paired with: naazhinan vti

naazhinan vti stroke, rub it

Paired with: naazhin vta

naazhisidoon vti2 rub it against something

naazitan vti go to where sound of it is

Paired with: naazitaw vta

naazitaw vta go to where sound of h/ is

Paired with: naazitan vti

(detransitive) naazitaage vai s/he goes to where the sound (of them) is, follows their sound
naazitaage vai s/he goes to where the sound (of them) is, follows their sound

naazhiiga'igan ni a hide stretcher

naazhiiga'ige vai s/he stretches a hide

nd= pf I, me [the one or ones speaking, the first person]; my [the one or ones speaking, the first person]

ndawemaa nad my brother; my sibling of the opposite sex; my sister

ndoozhim nad my parallel nephew; my stepson

nedaawangaa vii it is a sand spit, a sandy point

negwam vta choke on h/ (something swallowed)

Paired with: negwandan vti

negwandan vti choke on it (something swallowed)

Paired with: negwam vta

negwaabam vta look malevolently out of corner of h/ eye at h/

Paired with: negwaabandan vti

negwaabandan vti look malevolently out of corner of h/ eye at it

negwaakwaan ni a tap, a spile, a spigot (for getting sap from a tree)

See also: mitigo-negwaakwaan ni

(verb of making) negwaakwaanike vai s/he makes taps for sugaring
negwaakwaanike vai s/he makes taps for sugaring

nekamigaa vii it is point of ground

nekobaa vii it is a point of brush

nemaab na a pool ball; a marble

nemaabii vai s/he plays pool

nemaabiins na a marble

nemaabiiwigamig ni a pool hall

nena'idaa adv tmp exact same

nenawi' vta sing a lullaby to h/

nenawi'aawaso vai s/he sings a lullaby

nenaanan adv num five each

nenaandawi'iwed na-v traditional healer

nenaapaajinikesi na a mole

[
star-nosed mole
; 
Condylura cristata
]

nendodamaageshkid na-v beggar

nengawimin ni [BL] a sand cherry

[
Prunus pumila
]

nengawiminaganzh ni a sand cherry bush

[
Prunus pumila
]

neningodwaaswi adv num six each

nenisooshkimod adv num three bags each, three bags each time

neniswi adv num three each

nenishwaaswi adv num eight each

See also: eyishwaaswi adv num

neniibiwa adv qnt [N] a whole lot, a lot each time, a lot to each one

See also: neniibowa adv qnt [S]

neniibowa adv qnt [S] a whole lot, a lot each time, a lot to each one

See also: neniibiwa adv qnt [N]

neniiwin adv num four each

neniizh adv num two each

neniizhiwag vai they are two by two; there are two of them each time

neniizhooshkimod adv num two bags each, two bags each time

neniizhwaaswi adv num seven each

nenookaasi na a hummingbird

[
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
; 
Archilochus colubris
]

nenookaasiins na a hummingbird

nesezo vai s/he pants

neshangaa vii it is limber, is slack

Paired with: neshangizi vai

neshangaabiigad vii it is slack (as something string-like)

Paired with: neshangaabiigizi vai

neshangaabiigizi vai s/he is slack (as something string-like)

Paired with: neshangaabiigad vii

neshangisin vii it lies limp, lies slack

Paired with: neshangishin vai

neshangishin vai s/he lies limp, lies slack, lies relaxed

Paired with: neshangisin vii

neshangizi vai s/he is limber, is slack

Paired with: neshangaa vii

newe na a bull snake

neyaab adv man as before; back to previous place or condition

neyaabikaa vii it is a rocky point or cape

neyaakwaa vii there is a point of trees

neyaandagaa vii there is a sandy point

neyaashi ni a point (of land), a cape

(verb of being) neyaashiiwan vii there is a point (of land), a cape
neyaashiiwan vii there is a point (of land), a cape

neyaawangaa vii it is a sandy point

nezaadiikaa vii it is a point of poplars

ni- pv dir coming up to in time; going away

See also: ani- pv dir

ni= pf I, me [the one or ones speaking, the first person]; my [the one or ones speaking, the first person]

nibaa vai s/he sleeps, is asleep

(causative) nibe' vta make h/ sleep, put h/ to bed (verb of pretending) nibekaazo vai s/he pretends to sleep or be asleep (derived noun) nibewin ni an overnight stopping place; something used to sleep on: a bed, bedding material (verb of addiction) nibaashki vai s/he sleeps all the time
nibaadaakigwe vai s/he has a awful cold, has a damn cold

nibaadaanike vai s/he makes a mess digging

nibaadweweba'idiwag vai they make a racket scurrying around together

nibaadwewenjige vai s/he eats making irritating noises

nibaadwewesin vii it makes a disturbing sound ringing

nibaagan ni something used to sleep on: a bed, bedding material

nibaaganaatig ni a bed frame

nibaashki vai s/he sleeps all the time

nibe' vta make h/ sleep, put h/ to bed

nibe'aawaso vai s/he puts a child or children to sleep

nibekaazo vai s/he pretends to sleep or be asleep

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.