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wanibagizo vai s/he missteps in dancing

wanibatoo vai s/he runs the wrong way

wanibizo vai s/he gets lost driving

wanibii'an vti make a mistake writing it

(detransitive) wanibii'ige vai s/he makes a mistake writing something
wanibii'ige vai s/he makes a mistake writing something

wanichigaade vii it is lost (by somone), "they" lose it; it is made wrong (by someone), "they" make it wrong

wanichigaazo vai s/he is lost (by someone), "they" lose h/

wanichige vai s/he makes a mistake, makes things wrong

wanigiizhwe vai s/he makes a mistake speaking, mispronounces something

wanigwaadan vti make a mistake sewing it

Paired with: wanigwaazh vta

wanigwaade vii it is sewn wrong

Paired with: wanigwaazo vai

wanigwaaso vai s/he makes a mistake sewing

wanigwaazh vta make a mistake sewing h/

Paired with: wanigwaadan vti

wanigwaazo vai s/he is sewn wrong

Paired with: wanigwaade vii

wani' vta lose, miss h/

Paired with: wanitoon vti2

wani'aawaso vai s/he loses a child

wanim vta mislead, confuse h/ (by speech)

(reciprocal) wanindiwag vai they mislead, confuse, fool each other
wanimo vai s/he makes a mistake in speaking, mispronounces something

wanin vta take, touch h/ (the wrong one)

Paired with: waninan vti

waninamaw vta hand wrong one of something to h/

waninan vti hold, take, touch it the wrong way or the wrong one

Paired with: wanin vta

(benefactive) waninamaw vta hand wrong one of something to h/
waninawe'an vti stir it

See also: wanawe'an vti [BL]

(derived noun) waninawe'igan ni something used to stir or mix with: a stirring stick, an eggbeater, a mixer
waninawe'igan ni something used to stir or mix with: a stirring stick, an eggbeater, a mixer

See also: wanawe'igan ni [BL]

wanindiwag vai they mislead, confuse, fool each other

wanisidoon vti2 misplace it

Paired with: wanishim vta

wanisin vii it is lost, gets lost

Paired with: wanishin vai

wanishim vta

Paired with: wanisidoon vti2

wanishin vai s/he is lost, gets lost

Paired with: wanisin vii

wanishkwe' vta disturb, distract, interrupt h/

(reciprocal) wanishkwe'idiwag vai they disturb, distract, interrupt each other
wanishkwe'idiwag vai they disturb, distract, interrupt each other

wanishkwem vta disturb, distract, interrupt h/ (by speech)

wanishkweyendam vai s/he is distracted

wanitam vai2 s/he misunderstands something heard

wanitaw vta misunderstand (what) h/ (says)

wanitoon vti2 lose, miss it

Paired with: wani' vta

(detransitive) wanichige vai s/he makes a mistake, makes things wrong (verb of undergoing) wanichigaade vii it is lost (by somone), "they" lose it; it is made wrong (by someone), "they" make it wrong (verb of undergoing) wanichigaazo vai s/he is lost (by someone), "they" lose h/
wanizekwe vai s/he makes a mistake cooking

wanii'amaw vta trap (for) h/

wanii'igan ni a trap

wanii'ige vai s/he traps

wanii'ige-mazina'igan ni [BL] a trapping license

See also: wanii'ige-mazina'igaans ni [ML]

wanii'ige-mazina'igaans ni [ML] a trapping license

See also: wanii'ige-mazina'igan ni [BL]

wanii'igewikwe na

wanii'igewinini na a trapper

waniike vai s/he forgets

waniiken vai + o s/he forgets (it)

waniiwizi vai s/he is forgetful, forgets

wanwewe'akokwe vai s/he makes a mistake drumming

wanwewese vai [BL] s/he hiccoughs, hiccups

wapaa' vta disturb h/ sleep

wapii adv tmp at that time

wasitaawinaagozi vai s/he looks unhappy, sorrowful, uncomfortable

washkadamon vii it (a road or trail) bends, curves

washkakwazhiwe vai s/he makes a turn paddling

washkaadagaa vai s/he turns back swimming

washkaadage vai [BL] s/he turns around swimming

See also: washkaadagaa vai

washkibagizo vai s/he quickly turns

washkibatoo vai s/he turns and runs

washkibide vii it makes a turn speeding, driving, flying

Paired with: washkibizo vai

washkibizo vai s/he makes a turn speeding, driving, flying

Paired with: washkibide vii

washkigaabawi vai s/he turns while standing

washkigiiwe vai s/he turns and goes back

washkikaa vai s/he suddenly changes directions, changes h/ course

washkitigweyaa vii it (a river) flows around a bend

wawaabijiiyaabi vai s/he has grey eyes

wawaaga'amii vai s/he walks bow-legged

wawaagigaade vai s/he is bow-legged

wawaagizide vai s/he is pigeon-toed

wawaagizide'amii vai s/he walks pigeon-toed

wawaagizidekawe vai s/he leaves pigeon-toed tracks

wawaanendam vai2 s/he doesn't know what to do or think, is dumfounded

wawaasaabizo vai h/ eyes shine

wawaasese vii there is lightning

wawaashkitigweyaa vii it is a winding river

wawaawashkamon vii it is a winding road or trail

wawaawashkaakozi vai it (stick-like, animate) is crooked, is a crooked tree

wawaawashkaakwad vii it (stick-like) is crooked, is a crooked stick

Paired with: wawaawashkaakozi vai

wawenabi vai s/he is sitting down, stays seated

wawepizo vai a/he dresses up

wawezhichigaade vii it is decorated (by someone), "they" decorate it

wawezhichigaazo vai s/he is decorated (by someone), "they" decorate h/

wawezhichige vai s/he decorates things

wawezhi' vta decorate, adorn h/; dress up, make up h/

Paired with: wawezhitoon vti2

wawezhi'o vai s/he dresses up; s/he makes up h/ self

wawezhitoon vti2 decorate it

Paired with: wawezhi' vta

(detransitive) wawezhichige vai s/he decorates things (verb of undergoing) wawezhichigaade vii it is decorated (by someone), "they" decorate it (verb of undergoing) wawezhichigaazo vai s/he is decorated (by someone), "they" decorate h/
wawiyadendam vai2 s/he is amused, finds something funny

wawiyadendamowin ni amusement

wawiyadendan vti think it cute, think it funny (comical)

Paired with: wawiyadenim vta

wawiyadendaagozi vai s/he is thought cute, thought funny (comical)

Paired with: wawiyadendaagwad vii

wawiyadendaagwad vii it is thought cute, thought funny (comical)

Paired with: wawiyadendaagozi vai

wawiyadenim vta think h/ cute, think h/ funny (comical)

Paired with: wawiyadendan vti

wawiyazh adv man comical; funny

wawiyazhinaagozi vai s/he looks cute, looks funny (comical)

Paired with: wawiyazhinaagwad vii

wawiyazhinaagwad vii it looks cute, looks funny (comical)

Paired with: wawiyazhinaagozi vai

wawiyazhitaagozi vai s/he sounds cute, sounds funny (comical)

Paired with: wawiyazhitaagwad vii

wawiyazhitaagwad vii it sounds cute, sounds funny (comical)

Paired with: wawiyazhitaagozi vai

wawizhendam vai2 s/he rejoices, is really happy and satisified

wawiinge adv man carefully; completely; properly; well

See also: owiinge adv deg [NI]

wawiingechige vai s/he does something skillfully, exactly; s/he makes things skilfully, exactly

wawiinge' vta make h/ skilfully

Paired with: wawiingetoon vti2

wawiingetoon vti2 make it skilfully

Paired with: wawiinge' vta

(detransitive) wawiingechige vai s/he does something skillfully, exactly; s/he makes things skilfully, exactly

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.