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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

first
adv
first
akawe adv tmp first (in a time sequence), first of all

first of all
akawe adv tmp first (in a time sequence), first of all

first
adj
live in the first house
nitamige vai s/he lives in the first house

first day of the month
bezhigwaginzo vai [BL] it is the first (of the month)

maadaginzo vai the month begins, it is the first (of the month)

first person
first person
n= pf I, me [the one or ones speaking, the first person]; my [the one or ones speaking, the first person]

ni= pf I, me [the one or ones speaking, the first person]; my [the one or ones speaking, the first person]

ind= pf I, me [the one or ones speaking, the first person]; my [the one or ones speaking, the first person]

nind= pf I, me [the one or ones speaking, the first person]; my [the one or ones speaking, the first person]

niin pron per I, me

See also: gaye niin pron per ; geniin pron per

first person exclusive plural
first person exclusive plural
niinawind pron per we, us [exclusive]

See also: gaye niinawind pron per ; geniinawind pron per

niinetawind pron per only we, only us; just us [exclusive]

niinitamawind pron per our turn, us next [exclusive]

first person inclusive plural
first person inclusive plural
giinawind pron per we, us [inclusive]

See also: gaye giinawind pron per ; gegiinawind pron per

giinetawind pron per only we, only us; just us [inclusive]

giinitamawind pron per our turn, us next [inclusive]

first person inclusive plural
first person inclusive plural
giinawind pron per we, us [inclusive]

See also: gaye giinawind pron per ; gegiinawind pron per

giinetawind pron per only we, only us; just us [inclusive]

giinitamawind pron per our turn, us next [inclusive]

first-born
n
first-born
nitamoozhaan na an eldest child; a first-born child

first-quarter moon
n
first-quarter moon
aabitawaasige vai there is a first-quarter or last-quarter moon

aabitawaabikizi vai
  1. it (animate) is half (as something mineral)
  2. it (the moon) is a half-moon

fish
n
fish
giigoonh na a fish

See also: giingoo na [RL]

clean fish
bakazhaawe vai s/he cleans fish

fire-cured meat or fish
abwewasigan ni fire-cured meat or fish

roasted fish
abwaajigan ni roasted meat or fish

scale fish
jiiga'amegwe vai s/he scales fish

jiiga'e vai s/he scales fish

smoked fish
gaaski-giigoonh na smoked fish

gaaskaabasigan na smoke-cured animal or fish

See also: gaaskaabasigan ni

take fish out of net
gidinamegwe vai s/he takes fish out of the net

fish
vi
fish
giigoonyike vai s/he fishes

noojigiigoonyiwe vai s/he goes fishing

fish through the ice with a spear
akwa'waa vai [ML] s/he fishes through the ice with spear

fish with a hook and line
wewebanaabii vai s/he fishes with a hook and line

fish with a net
bagida'waa vai s/he fishes (with a net), sets net

fish with a setline
bagidaabii vai s/he fishes with a setline

go fishing
noojigiigoonyiwe vai s/he goes fishing

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.