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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

da naa pc disc what the heck!, what the hell!, damn! [particle cluster expressing mild disbelief, despair, or disapproval]

da- pv tns future tense (in independent order verbs with no personal preverb and, for some speakers, in unchanged conjunct verbs)

dabasabi vai s/he sits low

dabasadinaa vii it is a low small hill

dabasadowe vai s/he has short thin fur

dabasagoode vii it hangs low

Paired with: dabasagoojin vai

dabasagoodoon vti2 hang it low or lower

Paired with: dabasagoozh vta

dabasagoojigaade vii

dabasagoojin vai s/he hangs low

Paired with: dabasagoode vii

dabasagoozh vta hang h/ low or lower

Paired with: dabasagoodoon vti2

dabasa'am vai2 s/he flies low

dabasajiw ni a low mountain

dabasakamigaa vii it is low ground

dabasakide vii it stands low

Paired with: dabasakizo vai

dabasakizo vai s/he (not a person) stands low

Paired with: dabasakide vii

dabasakii vii it stands low out of the ground

dabasashkad vii it (plant, grass) has a low stalk, is low

dabasaya'ii adv loc down low

dabasaa vii it is low

dabasaabi vai s/he looks down low

dabasaagamishkaa vai it (liquid) goes low; it (blood) is low in pressure

dabasaagonagaa vii there is low snow

dabasaakosin vii it (stick-like) lies low

dabasaakwaa vii there are low trees

dabasaakweyaa vii there is a low tree line

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.

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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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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.