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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

ignore
vt
ignore
boonendam vai2 s/he gives up, ignores something, quits thinking about something

boonendan vti forget, ignore it

Paired with: boonenim vta

boonenim vta forget, ignore h/; quit thinking or worrying about h/

Paired with: boonendan vti

ill
adj
ill
aakozi vai s/he is sick, is ill

fall ill from bad medicine
niboowise vai s/he becomes paralyzed; s/he falls ill from bad medicine; s/he has a stroke

seriously ill
aanimizi vai s/he suffers, is in distress, is very sick

ill-formed
adj
ill-formed
maazhi- pv lex bad; ill-formed

illness
n
illness
aakoziwin ni a sickness, an illness, a disease

recover from an illness
noojimo vai s/he heals, recovers from an illness

respiratory illness
ozosodamwaapine vai s/he has a respiratory illness, has tuberculosis

image
n
make an image
mazinaadin vta make an image of h/

image
mazinichigan na a statue, a figurine, an effigy, a doll

immobilized
adj
immobilized
mamaanjigozi vai s/he is immobilized, is incapacitated

impatient
adj
impatient
ojaanimendam vai2 s/he is anxious, is impatient, is in a hurry

zhigajii vai s/he is impatient, grows tired of something

important
adj
important
gichi-apiitendaagwad vii it is highly respected, is valuable, is important

Paired with: gichi-apiitendaagozi vai

gichi-apiitendaagozi vai s/he is highly respected, is valuable, is important

Paired with: gichi-apiitendaagwad vii

apiitendaagwad vii it is valued so high, ranks so high, is so important, is worthy

Paired with: apiitendaagozi vai

apiitendaagozi vai s/he is valued so high, ranks so high, is so important

Paired with: apiitendaagwad vii

imprinted
adj
imprinted
mazinisin vii it is imprinted, has a pattern or design

mazinishin vai s/he is imprinted, has a pattern or design

Paired with: mazinisin vii

imprison
vt
imprison
gibaakwa' vta
  1. shut, block h/ (as or as with something stick- or wood-like)
  2. jail, imprison h/
  3. put h/ on lockdown or quarantine

Paired with: gibaakwa'an vti

gibaakwa'igaazo vai s/he is jailed, imprisoned (by someone), "they" jail, imprison h/

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.