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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

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Showing Category: animals

adik na a caribou, a reindeer

[
Rangifer tarandus
]

agongos na
  1. a chipmunk [Tamias striatus; Eutamias minimus]
  2. a Scandinavian

agongosens na [RL] a chipmunk

ajidamoo na a red squirrel

[
American red squirrel
; 
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
]

akakojiishi na a woodchuck, a groundhog

[
Marmota monax
]

See also: akakojiish na

amik na a beaver

[
Castor canadensis
]

(verb of possession) odamikomi vai s/he has a beaver or beavers
apakwaanaajiinh na a bat

See also: bapakwaanaajiinh na

bapakwaanaajiinh na a bat

See also: apakwaanaajiinh na

bizhiw na a lynx

[
Lynx lynx
]

esiban na a raccoon

[
Procyon lotor
]

gaag na a porcupine

[
Erethizon dorsatum
]

gidagaa-bizhiw na a bobcat

[
Lynx rufus
]

gwiingwa'aage na a wolverine

[
Gulo gulo
]

ma'iingan na a wolf

[
timberwolf / gray wolf
; 
Canis lupus
]

makwa na a bear

[
black bear
; 
Ursus americana
]

(verb of pretending) makokaazo vai s/he pretends to be a bear (verb of being) makowi vai
  1. s/he is a bear, becomes a bear
  2. she comes of age, has her first menses
manidoo-waabooz na a cottontail rabbit

[
eastern cottontail
; 
Sylvilagus floridanus
]

mashkode-bizhiki na a bison; a buffalo

[
American bison
; 
Bison bison
]

memookiwidoo na a pocket gopher

[
plains pocket gopher
; 
Geomys bursarius
]

misajidamoo na a grey squirrel; a fox squirrel

[
fox squirrel, grey squirrel
; 
Sciurus spp.
]

misaabooz na a jack rabbit

[
white-tailed jack rabbit
; 
Lepus townsendii
]

mishibizhii na
  1. a lion, a panther [mountain lion, Puma concolor]
  2. an underwater panther

See also: mishiibizhii na

mooz na a moose

[
Alces alces
]

(verb of making) moozoke vai s/he dresses a moose
nenaapaajinikesi na a mole

[
star-nosed mole
; 
Condylura cristata
]

nigig na an otter

[
river otter
; 
Lontra canadensis
]

ojiig na a fisher

[
Martes pennanti
]

omashkooz na an elk

[
American elk, wapiti
; 
Cervus elaphus
]

wazhashk na a muskrat

[
Ondatra zibethicus
]

waabizheshi na a marten

[
American marten, pine marten
; 
Martes americana
]

waabooz na a rabbit, a snowshoe hare

[
snowshoe hare
; 
Lepus americanus
]

(verb of abundance) waaboozokaa vai there are (a lot of) rabbits
waagosh na a fox

[
red fox
; 
Vulpes vulpes
]

waawaabiganoojiinh na a mouse

waawaashkeshi na a deer

[
white-tailed deer
; 
Odocoileus virginianus
]

zhagashkaandawe na a flying squirrel

[
northern flying squirrel
; 
Glaucomys sabrinus
]

zhaangweshi na a mink

[
Mustela vison
]

zhigaag na a skunk

[
striped skunk
; 
Mephitis mephitis
]

zhingos na a weasel

[
long-tailed weasel, ermine
; 
Mustela spp.
]

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.