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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

ogidaatig adv loc on top of a log, piece of wood, stick, or tree

ogidibiig adv loc on top of the water

ogidig nid [C] [N] h/ knee

ogidigamig adv loc on top of the house; upstairs

See also: agidigamig adv loc

ogidigwan nad [ML] h/ knee

ogidoonag adv loc on top of a canoe or boat

See also: agidoonag adv loc [ML]

ogijaya'ii adv loc [N] on top, on top of

See also: ogijayi'ii adv loc [ML] ; wagijaya'ii adv loc

ogijayi'ii adv loc [ML] on top, on top of

See also: ogijaya'ii adv loc [N]

ogiji- pv lex on top, on top of

See also: agiji- pv lex

ogiji-adoopowin adv loc on the table

ogiji-desabiwin adv loc [BL] on top of the chair

ogiji-jiimaan adv loc on top of a canoe or boat

ogiji-nibewin adv loc on top of a bed

ogiji-waakaa'igan adv loc on top a house or building

ogijidaabaan adv loc on top of a vehicle (car, truck, wagon)

See also: wagijidaabaan adv loc

ogimaa na
  1. a leader (male): a boss, a chief, a king
  2. a king (card)

(verb of being) ogimaawi vai s/he is a leader, is a boss, is a chief
(causative) ogimaawi' vta make h/ the boss or leader (derived noun) ogimaawiwin ni government; authority; leadership
(verb of pretending) ogimaakaazo vai s/he pretends to be the boss (verb of possession) odoogimaami vai s/he has a boss or bosses, a chief or chiefs
ogimaa-mishiibizhiw na [BL] chief of the great panthers

See also: ogimaa-mishiibizhii na

ogimaa-mishiibizhii na chief of the great panthers

See also: ogimaa-mishiibizhiw na [BL]

ogimaa-nagamon ni chief song

ogimaakandan vti rule, govern it

Paired with: ogimaakandaw vta

ogimaakandaw vta rule, govern h/

Paired with: ogimaakandan vti

ogimaakaw vta make h/ chief; make h/ leader

ogimaakaan na [BL] a chief

(verb of being) ogimaakaaniwi vai [BL] s/he is a chief
ogimaakaaniwi vai [BL] s/he is a chief

ogimaakaazo vai s/he pretends to be the boss

ogimaakwe na a female leader, boss, chief; a queen; a wife of a chief

(verb of being) ogimaakwewi vai she is a leader, boss, chief, queen; she is the wife of a leader, boss, chief
ogimaakwens na a princess

ogimaakwensiwi vai she is a princess
ogimaakwensiwi vai she is a princess

ogimaakwewi vai she is a leader, boss, chief, queen; she is the wife of a leader, boss, chief

ogimaans na a prince

ogimaawi vai s/he is a leader, is a boss, is a chief

ogimaawigamig ni an administrative office; a head office

ogimaawi' vta make h/ the boss or leader

ogimaawiwin ni government; authority; leadership

ogin na a tomato; a rose hip

(verb of abundance) oginiikaa vii there are (many) roses, rosehips
oginii-dagonigan ni catsup

oginii-waabigwan ni a rose

oginiikaa vii there are (many) roses, rosehips

oginiiwaaboo ni tomato juice

oginiiwaande vii it is rose-colored, is pink

Paired with: oginiiwaanzo vai

oginiiwaanzan vti color it pink

oginiiwaanzo vai s/he is rose-colored, is pink

Paired with: oginiiwaande vii

oginiiwaatig ni a rose bush

[
Rosa spp
]

ogitiziiman nad h/ parent

ogiidaajiwan adv loc [BL] upstream

See also: agidaajiwan adv loc [ML] ; ogidaajiwan adv loc

ogiidaajiwanwekwazhiwe vai s/he paddles upstream

ogiikadaanaangwe na a salamander, a lizard

ogiin nad h/ mother

ogiishkimanisii na a kingfisher

[
belted kingfisher
; 
Ceryle alcyon
]

See also: ogashkimanisii na [NI]

ogiizhikimi vai s/he has cedar

ogondashkway nid h/ throat

ogow pron dem [N] these (animate plural)

See also: ogowe pron dem [N] ; ongow pron dem [C] [S]

ogowe pron dem [N] these (animate plural)

See also: ogow pron dem [N] ; ongow pron dem [C] [S] ; ogoweg pron dem [N]

ogowedi pron dem [BL] these over here (animate plural)

ogowedig pron dem these over here (animate plural)

ogoweg pron dem [N] these (animate plural)

See also: ogow pron dem [N] ; ogowe pron dem [N]

ogozisan nad h/ son

ogozisensi vai s/he has a son [child]

ogozisi vai s/he has a son or sons

ogoodaas nid her dress

ogoodaasi vai s/he has a dress

ogwizisan nad [BL] h/ son

See also: ogozisan nad

o'o pron dem this (inanimate singular)

See also: o'ow pron dem ; o'owe pron dem [N] ; yo'o pron dem ; yo'ow pron dem

o'omaa adv loc here

See also: omaa adv loc

o'ow pron dem this (inanimate singular)

See also: o'owe pron dem [N]

o'owe pron dem [N] this (inanimate singular)

See also: o'ow pron dem

o'owedi pron dem this over here (inanimate singular)

See also: owedi pron dem

o'owidi adv loc over here, over this way

See also: owidi adv loc

o'oosi vai s/he has a father

See also: owoosi vai ; oyoosi vai

o'oosim vta have h/ as a father

See also: oyoosim vta ; owoosim vta

ojaan nid [N] nose

See also: ojaanzh nid [S]

ojaanimakamigad vii it is a busy event

Paired with: ojaanimakamigizi vai

ojaanimakamigizi vai s/he is busy or occupied in work or activity

Paired with: ojaanimakamigad vii

ojaanimanokii vai s/he is busy working

ojaanimaapine vai s/he is very ill

ojaanimendam vai2 s/he is anxious, is impatient, is in a hurry

ojaanimi- pv lex busy; noisy

ojaanimi' vta make h/ hurry, rush h/; give h/ a hard time, get after h/, chew h/ out

Paired with: ojaanimitoon vti2

(detransitive) ojaanimi'iwe vai s/he gives people a hard time, gets after people, creates anxiety; s/he rushes people, makes people hurry (reciprocal) ojaanimi'idiwag vai they give each other a hard time, get after each other
ojaanimi'idiwag vai they give each other a hard time, get after each other

ojaanimi'iwe vai s/he gives people a hard time, gets after people, creates anxiety; s/he rushes people, makes people hurry

ojaanimim vta hurry h/ (by speech); give h/ a hard time, get after h/ (by speech)

(reciprocal) ojaanimindiwag vai they give each other a hard time, get after each other (by speech)
ojaanimindiwag vai they give each other a hard time, get after each other (by speech)

ojaanimishkaa vai s/he is in a hurry going somewhere

ojaanimitaa vai s/he is busy (in some work or activity)

ojaanimitoon vti2 be eager to do it

Paired with: ojaanimi' vta

ojaanimizekwe vai s/he cooks in a hurry

ojaanimizi vai s/he is busy

(verb of pretending) ojaanimiziikaazo vai s/he pretends to be busy
ojaanimiziikaazo vai s/he pretends to be busy

ojaanimwewidam vai2 s/he makes a racket (with h/ voice or call)

ojaanzh nid [S] h/ nose

See also: ojaan nid [N]

ojepii vai s/he is adept; s/he is quick in action,

ojibidoon vti2 draw it close, pull it out or down towards you

Paired with: ojibizh vta

ojibinigo vai s/he gets cramps, has convulsions

ojibinigogaade vai s/he gets cramps in h/ leg

ojibinigonike vai s/he gets cramps in h/ arm

ojibinigoninjii vai s/he gets cramps in h/ hand

ojibinigozide vai s/he gets cramps in h/ foot

ojibizh vta draw h/ close, pull h/ out or down towards you

Paired with: ojibidoon vti2

ojibobidoon vti2 pull it into a pucker

ojibode vii it shrivels from heat

Paired with: ojibozo vai

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.