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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

bustle
n
dance bustle
bimoonjigan na [RL] a dance bustle

busy
adj
busy
ojaanimi- pv lex busy; noisy

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

ojaanimizi vai s/he is busy

ondamizi vai s/he is busy

busy working
ondamanokii vai s/he is busy working

kept busy in an activity
ondamitaa vai s/he is kept busy in an activity

but
conj
but
aanawi adv man although; anyhow; but; despite

dash adv conj but; and, and then, then

See also: idash adv conj

idash adv conj but; and, and then, then

See also: dash adv conj

butcher knife
n
butcher knife
gichi-mookomaan ni a large knife: a butcher knife, a machete

butt
n
butt
indiy nid my rump, rear end, butt

See also: nidiy nid

nidiy nid my rump, rear end, butt

See also: indiy nid

gidiy nid your rump, rear end, butt

odiy nid h/ rump, rear end, butt

butter
n
butter
doodooshaaboo-bimide ni butter

ozaawi-bimide ni butter; margarine

butterfly
n
butterfly
memengwaa na a butterfly

button
n
button
gibadoonh na a button

gibodoonh na [S] a button

button
vt
button
zagaakwa' vta fasten, pin, button h/

Paired with: zagaakwa'an vti

zagaakwa'an vti fasten, pin, button it

Paired with: zagaakwa' vta

zagaakwa'ige vai s/he fastens, pins, buttons things

zagaakwa'igaade vii it is fastened, pinned, buttoned (by someone), "they" fasten, pin, button it

zagaakwa'igaazo vai it (animate) is fastened, pinned, buttoned (by someone), "they" fasten, pin, button it (animate)

zagaakwa'amaw vta fasten, pin, button (it) for h/

zagaakwa'odizo vai s/he buttons h/ self up

buy
vt
buy
adaawe vai s/he buys

adaawen vai + o s/he buys (it)

adaawetamaw vta buy (it) for h/

adaawetamaage vai s/he buys (it) for others

adaawetamaazo vai s/he buys (it) for h/ self

adaam vta buy (it) from h/

buy food
miijimadaawe vai s/he buys food

buy from a certain place
ondadaawe vai + o s/he buys (it) from a certain place

buy in a certain place
danadaawe vai + o s/he buys (it) in a certain place

buy on credit
mazina'an vti buy it on credit, charge it to an account

mazina'amaw vta owe (it) to h/, get credit from h/, charge (it) (on an account with h/)

mazina'ige vai s/he owes something, gets or has credit, buys on credit, charges to an account, goes into debt

buy secretly
giimoodadaawe vai s/he buys secretly

overspend buying stuff
onzaamadaawe vai s/he overspends

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.