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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

weight
n
net weight
asinaab ni a net weight, a net sinker

welfare office
n
welfare office
ashangewigamig ni a welfare office, a commodity store

welfare worker
n
welfare worker
ashangewikwe na a social worker, a welfare worker (female)

ashangewinini na a social worker, a welfare worker

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

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

aaniish naa adv man well now; you see

well then
aanish adv man a well; well then

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

● DOING SOMETHING WELL
well
mino- pv lex good; nice; well

wawiinge adv man carefully; completely; properly; well

See also: owiinge adv deg [NI]

wawiingezi vai s/he is skillful, does a good job, does something well

nitaa- pv lex being good at; being skilled at; frequently do; know how to do something

behave well
mino-izhiwebizi vai s/he behaves well, fares well, has good health

Paired with: mino-izhiwebad vii

cook well
minoz vta cook h/ well

Paired with: minozan vti

minozan vti cook it well

Paired with: minoz vta

do well
minochige vai s/he does things well, does a good job

dress well
mino'o vai s/he dresses well

eat well
mino-wiisini vai s/he eats well, likes what s/he eats

minwanjige vai s/he eats well, likes what s/he eats

fit well
minwashkine vii it fits well; it is well filled

Paired with: minwashkine vai

minwashkine vai s/he fits well; s/he is well filled

minokan vti fit it well

Paired with: minokaw vta

minokaw vta
  1. fit h/ well
  2. [inverse] it (something consumed) agrees with h/, does h/ good

See also: minokan vti

get along well
minose vai s/he has things go well for h/, gets along well, has good luck

Paired with: minose vii

go well
minose vii it goes well

Paired with: minose vai

grow well
miikogi vai s/he, it (animate) grows well

Paired with: miikogin vii

miikogin vii it grows well

Paired with: miikogi vai

minogi vai s/he, it (animate) grows well

Paired with: minogin vii

minogin vii it grows well

Paired with: minogi vai

live well
mino-bimaadizi vai s/he lives well, leads a good life, has good health

run well
minobide vii it runs well (as a machine)

Paired with: minobizo vai

minobizo vai it (animate) runs well (as a machine); s/he drives well

Paired with: minobide vii

see well
minwaabi vai s/he has good eyesight, sees well

sew well
minogwaaso vai s/he sews well

minogwaadan vti sew it well

Paired with: minogwaazh vta

minogwaazh vta sew it (animate) well

Paired with: minogwaadan vti

minogwaade vii it is sewn well

Paired with: minogwaazo vai

minogwaazo vai it (animate) is sewn well

Paired with: minogwaade vii

speak well
minowe vai s/he has a good voice, speaks well

treat well
mino-doodaw vta treat h/ well

well
[water source]
n
well
onda'ibaan ni a source of water, a well

moona'ibaan ni a well

well-digger
n
well-digger
moona'ibiiwinini na a well-digger

west
n
west
ningaabii'an ni west

west wind
n
west wind
ningaabii'an ni west

wet
vt
wet the bed
zhigingwaam vai [ML] s/he pees in bed, wets the bed

See also: zhigingwaami vai [RL] ; zhigingwaamo vai [BL]

zhigingwaami vai [RL] s/he pees in bed, wets the bed

See also: zhigingwaam vai [ML] ; zhigingwaamo vai [BL]

wet
adj
wet
nibiiwan vii it is wet, is watery; it is juicy

Paired with: nibiiwizi vai

nibiiwizi vai s/he or it (animate) is wet; it (animate) is juicy

Paired with: nibiiwan vii

wet (mineral)
nibiiwaabikad vii it (something mineral) is wet

Paired with: nibiiwaabikizi vai

nibiiwaabikizi vai it (animate; something mineral) is wet

Paired with: nibiiwaabikad vii

soaking wet
zhiigwaabaawe vai s/he or it (animate) is soaked, is soaking wet

Paired with: zhiigwaabaawe vii

zhiigwaabaawe vii it is soaked, is soaking wet

Paired with: zhiigwaabaawe vai

get wet
nisaabaawe vai s/he gets wet

Paired with: nisaabaawe vii

wet bough
nibiiwaandagaa vii there are wet boughs

nibiiwaandagizi vai it (animate; bough) is wet

wet snow
zhakaagonagaa vii there is soft wet snow

zhakipon vii wet snow falls

wet face
dipiiwiingwe vai s/he has a wet face

wet ground
nibiiwakamigaa vii it is wet ground

wet hand
dipiiwininjii vai h/ hand is wet

nibiiwininjii vai s/he has wet hands

wet leaves
dipiiwibagaa vii there are wet leaves

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.