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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

whitefish
n
whitefish
adikameg na a whitefish

[
lake whitefish
; 
Coregonus clupeaformis
]

smoked whitefish
giikanaabate-adikameg na a smoked whitefish

whittle
vt
whittle
mookodaaso vai s/he carves, whittles, planes (wood)

who
pron
who
awenen pron inter who

awenesh pron inter who; who then

don't know who
awegwen pron dub I don't know who, I wonder who

don't remember who
aya'aa pron psl I don't remember who; a being, a thing animate in gender

Paired with: aya'ii pron psl ; ayi'ii pron psl

wonder who
awegwen pron dub I don't know who, I wonder who

who then
awenesh pron inter who; who then

whoever
pron
whoever
awegwen igo pron dub whoever, anyone at all; whoever might it be

whole
n
whole extent of
gabe- pv lex throughout; whole extent of

whole
adj
make of a whole piece
miziwe' vta make h/ of a whole piece

Paired with: miziwetoon vti2

miziwetoon vti2 make it of a whole piece

Paired with: miziwe' vta

whole
miziweyaa vii it is whole, is intact

Paired with: miziwezi vai

miziwezi vai s/he is whole, is intact

whole lot
n
a whole lot
neniibowa adv qnt [S] a whole lot, a lot each time, a lot to each one

See also: neniibiwa adv qnt [N]

whoop
vi
whoop
zaasaakwe vai s/he whoops

why
adv
why
wegonen (+ -onji-) pron inter why?

aaniin adv inter how?; in what way?; why?

aaniin dash adv inter why?

aaniish adv inter how?; in what way? [interrogative]; well now; why?; you see

well why
aaniin danaa adv inter well how?; well why?; why not?

why not
adv
why not
aaniin danaa adv inter well how?; well why?; why not?

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.