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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

dip net
n
dip net
gwaaba'waagan na a scoop net

dipper
n
dipper
gwaaba'igan ni a dipper, a scoop

direct
vt
direct affairs
odaake vai
  1. s/he steers
  2. s/he governs, directs affairs

direction
n
direction
akeyaa adv loc in the direction of, in that way

See also: inagakeyaa adv deg [RL]

gakeyaa adv loc in the direction of, in that way

keyaa adv loc in the direction of, in that way

See also: akeyaa adv loc ; gakeyaa adv loc

directly
adv
directly
dibishkoo adv man directly; equal; even; just like, seems like

director
n
director
odaake-ogimaa na a director; a governor

odaakewigimaa na a director

assistant director
aanike-odaake-ogimaa na a lieutenant-governor; an assistant director

dirt
n
dirt
wiiyagasenh ni dust, dirt

dirty
adj
dirty
wiinad vii it is dirty

Paired with: wiinizi vai

wiinizi vai s/he or it (animate) is dirty

Paired with: wiinad vii

wiinitoon vti2 make it dirty

Paired with: wiini' vta

wiini' vta make h/ or it (animate) dirty

Paired with: wiinitoon vti2

wiinichigaade vii it is made dirty ( by someone), "they" make it dirty

wiinichigaazo vai s/he is made dirty (by someone), "they" make it dirty

consider dirty
wiinendan vti consider it dirty

Paired with: wiinenim vta

wiinenim vta consider h/ dirty

Paired with: wiinendan vti

dirty (mineral)
wiinaabikad vii it (mineral) is dirty

Paired with: wiinaabikizi vai

wiinaabikizi vai it (animate; mineral) is dirty

Paired with: wiinaabikad vii

dirty (sheet-like)
wiiniigad vii it (sheet-like) is dirty

Paired with: wiiniigizi vai

wiiniigizi vai it (animate; sheet-like) is dirty

Paired with: wiiniigad vii

dirty (stick-like)
wiinaakwad vii it is dirty (stick-like)

Paired with: wiinaakozi vai

wiinaakozi vai it (animate; stick-like) is dirty

dirty (string-like)
wiinaabiigad vii it (string-like) is dirty

Paired with: wiinaabiigizi vai

wiinaabiigizi vai it (animate; string-like) is dirty ; s/he is dirty (as if s/he has with strings of dirt on h/)

Paired with: wiinaabiigad vii

dirty belly
wiinimisade vai s/he has a dirty belly

dirty chest
wiinaakigane vai s/he has a dirty chest

dirty clothes
wiinikonaye vai s/he wears dirty or filthy clothes

dirty ear
wiinitawage vai s/he has a dirty ear or dirty ears

dirty eyes
wiinishkiinzhigwe vai s/he has dirty eyes

dirty face
wiinaanagiingwe vai s/he has a dirty face

wiiniingwe vai s/he has a dirty face

dirty floor
wiinisagaa vii the floor is dirty

wiinisagishkige vai s/he gets the floor dirty walking on it

dirty from contact
wiinisin vii it is dirty (from contact), gets dirty from lying around

Paired with: wiinishin vai

wiinishin vai s/he or it (animate) is dirty (from contact), gets dirty from lying around

Paired with: wiinisin vii

dirty hand
wiinininjii vai s/he has a dirty hand or dirty hands

dirty head
wiinindibe vai s/he has a dirty head

wiinishtigwaane vai s/he has dirty hair, h/ hair is dirty

See also: wiinitigwaane vai [BL]

dirty heel
wiinidoondane vai s/he has a dirty heel or dirty heels

dirty leg
wiinigaade vai s/he has dirty legs

dirty liquid
wiinaagamin vii it (a liquid) is dirty, is polluted

dirty mouth
wiinidoone vai
  1. s/he has a dirty mouth
  2. s/he has a filthy mouth (using bad language)

See also: wiinidoon vai [ML]

wiinidoon vai [ML]
  1. s/he has a dirty mouth
  2. s/he has a filthy mouth (using bad language)

See also: wiinidoone vai

dirty rear
wiinidiye vai s/he has a dirty rear

dirty scalp
wiinishagaandibe vai s/he has a dirty scalp

dirty skin
wiinazhe vai s/he has dirty skin, h/ skin is dirty

dirty snow
wiinaagonagaa vii there is dirty snow

makadewaagonagaa vii it is dark dirty snow

get dirty lying around
wiinisin vii it is dirty (from contact), gets dirty from lying around

Paired with: wiinishin vai

wiinishin vai s/he or it (animate) is dirty (from contact), gets dirty from lying around

Paired with: wiinisin vii

get dirty wearing
wiinishkan vti get it dirty by wearing it, get it dirty it with foot or body

Paired with: wiinishkaw vta

wiinishkaw vta get it (animate) dirty by wearing it, get h/ dirty with foot or body

Paired with: wiinishkan vti

wiinishkige vai s/he gets clothes dirty wearing them, gets things with foot or body

get dirty with foot or body
wiinishkan vti get it dirty by wearing it, get it dirty it with foot or body

Paired with: wiinishkaw vta

wiinishkaw vta get it (animate) dirty by wearing it, get h/ dirty with foot or body

Paired with: wiinishkan vti

wiinishkige vai s/he gets clothes dirty wearing them, gets things with foot or body

look dirty
wiininaagozi vai s/he or it (animate) looks dirty

Paired with: wiininaagwad vii

wiininaagwad vii it looks dirty

Paired with: wiininaagozi vai

make dirty
wiini' vta make h/ or it (animate) dirty

Paired with: wiinitoon vti2

wiinitoon vti2 make it dirty

Paired with: wiini' vta

wiinichige vai s/he makes things dirty

wiinichigaade vii it is made dirty ( by someone), "they" make it dirty

wiinichigaazo vai s/he is made dirty (by someone), "they" make it dirty

smell dirty
wiinimaagozi vai s/he or it (animate) smells dirty

Paired with: wiinimaagwad vii

wiinimaagwad vii it smells dirty

Paired with: wiinimaagozi vai

tell a dirty story
wiinaajimo vai s/he tells an indecent or dirty story

disagree
vi
disagree
aanwetaw vta disagree with what h/ says; disbelieve h/; doubt h/; not believe h/

disagreeable
adj
think disagreeable
maanendan vti think or consider it bad, poor, or disagreeable

Paired with: maanenim vta

maanenim vta think or consider h/ bad, poor, or disagreeable

Paired with: maanendan vti

maanendaagozi vai s/he is thought bad, is thought poor, is thought disagreeable

Paired with: maanendaagwad vii

maanendaagwad vii it is thought bad, is thought poor, is thought disagreeable

Paired with: maanendaagozi 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.