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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

tease
vt
tease
miikindizi vai s/he teases, provokes, irritates somebody

miikinji' vta provoke, tease, harass, bully h/

miikinji'idiwag vai they provoke, tease, harass, bully each other

miikinji'iwe vai s/he provokes, teases, harasses, bullies people

miikinzom vta tease, provoke, irritate h/ by speech

teaser
teaser
teaspoon
n
teaspoon
emikwaanens ni teaspoon

teethe
teethe
zaagaabide vai s/he teethes, grows teeth

telephone
n
telephone
giigidowin ni
  1. a speech
  2. a telephone

giigidoo-biiwaabikoons ni a telephone; telephone wire

telephone wire
n
telephone wire
giigidoo-biiwaabikoons ni a telephone; telephone wire

telescope
n
telescope
zhiibaayaabanjigan ni a telescope, a gun scope, (pl.) binoculars

television
n
television
mazinaatesijigan ni a television

tell
vit
tell
dibaadodan vti tell of it

Paired with: dibaajim vta

dibaajim vta tell of h/

Paired with: dibaadodan vti

dibaajimo vai s/he tells, tells a story

dibaajimotaw vta tell (it) to h/

dibaadojigaade vii it is told of, reported (by someone), "they" tell of, report it

dibaadojigaazo vai s/he is told of, reported (by someone), "they" tell of, report h/

start to tell
maadaajim vta start telling of h/

Paired with: maadaadodan vti

maadaajimo vai s/he starts to tell

maadaajimotaw vta start telling (it) to h/

maadaadodan vti start telling about it

Paired with: maadaajim vta

tell a certain way
inaadodan vti tell a certain way about it

Paired with: inaajim vta

inaajim vta tell of h/ a certain way

inaajimo vai s/he tells a certain way

inaajimotaw vta tell h/ of (it) a certain way

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

tell a good story
minwaajimo vai s/he tells good news, tells a good story

tell a legend
aadizookaw vta tell a sacred story (a legend, a myth) to h/

aadizooke vai s/he tells a sacred story (a legend, a myth)

tell a myth
aadizookaw vta tell a sacred story (a legend, a myth) to h/

aadizooke vai s/he tells a sacred story (a legend, a myth)

tell a sacred story
aadizooke vai s/he tells a sacred story (a legend, a myth)

tell a story
aadodan vti tell a story of it

Paired with: aajim vta

aajim vta tell a story of h/

Paired with: aadodan vti

dibaajimo vai s/he tells, tells a story

dadibaajimo vai s/he tells stories, reports

See also: dibaajimo vai

dadibaajimotaw vta tell stories to h/

See also: dibaajimotaw vta

tell about
wiindamaadiwag vai they tell each other something

wiindamaage vai s/he tells (it) to people, announces (it) to people, informs people

wiindamaw vta tell h/ about (it), inform h/ about (it)

tell all
giizhaajimo vai s/he finishes a story, tells all (of a story)

tell good news
minwaajimo vai s/he tells good news, tells a good story

minwaadodan vti tell good news of it

Paired with: minwaajim vta

minwaajim vta tell good news of h/

Paired with: minwaadodan vti

tell in a certain place
danaadodan vti tell of it in a certain place

Paired with: danaajim vta

danaajim vta tell of h/ in a certain place

Paired with: danaadodan vti

tell secretly
giimoodaajimo vai s/he tells something secretly

giimoodaajim vta tell about h/ secretly

giimoodaajimotaw vta

tell the truth
debwe vai s/he tells the truth, speaks the truth

tell to disembark
gabaanaazha' vta tell h/ to get off, tell h/ to disembark

tell to get in or on
boozinaazha' vta tell h/ to get in or on (a vehicle or boat); tell h/ to go aboard

tell to get off
gabaanaazha' vta tell h/ to get off, tell h/ to disembark

tell to go aboard
boozinaazha' vta tell h/ to get in or on (a vehicle or boat); tell h/ to go aboard

tell to go home
giiwenaazha' vta tell h/ to go home

tell to go inside
biindigenaazha' vta tell h/ to go inside

tell to go outside
zaagijinaazha' vta tell h/ to go outside

tell to hurry
wewiibim vta tell h/ to hurry

tell to settle down
zagakim vta tell h/ to settle down

tell on
phrv
tell on
baataam vta tell on h/; testify against h/

baataandiwag vai they witness against, tell on each other

mamizhim vta inform on, tell on, tattle on h/

mamizhinge vai s/he informs on, tells on, tattles on people

mamizhindiwag vai they inform on, tell on, tattle on each other

mamizhindizo vai s/he informs on, tells on, tattles on h/ self

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.