Search the dictionary Advanced Search

How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

zhiigaawi vai rg
Listen

she is a widow, he is a widower



inzhiigaaw 1s ind; ninzhiigaaw 1s ind; nizhiigaaw 1s ind; zhiigaawi 3s ind; zhiigaawid 3s conj; zhaagaawid 3s ch-conj; Stem: /zhiigaawi-/

ninzhiigaaw1s ind rg
Listen

zhiigaawi3s ind rg
Listen

zhiigaawid3s conj rg
Listen

zhaagaawid3s ch-conj rg
Listen

zhiigaawi /zhiigaawi-/: /zhiigaaw-/ stem of zhiigaa na ; /-wi/
be, become a certain kind of being or thing

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.

Word Family

zhiigaa na a widow, a widower
(verb of being) zhiigaawi vai she is a widow, he is a widower

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.

  • Audio recordings
  • Images
  • Video
  • Documents

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.