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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

idan vti say so to it; speak to it or of it in a certain way

Paired with: izhi vta

idash adv conj but; and, and then, then

See also: dash adv conj

idiwag vai they say to each other; they speak to each other in a certain way

idizo vai s/he tells of h/ self

igaye adv conj as for, also, too, and

igiw pron dem [N] those (animate plural)

See also: igiweg pron dem [N] ; ingiw pron dem [LL] [ML]

igiwe pron dem [N] those (animate plural)

See also: igiw pron dem [N] ; igiweg pron dem [N] ; ingiw pron dem [LL] [ML]

igiwedi pron dem [BL] those over there (animate plural)

See also: igiwedig pron dem [N]

igiwedig pron dem [N] those over there (animate plural)

igiweg pron dem [N] those (animate plural)

See also: igiw pron dem [N] ; ingiw pron dem [LL] [ML]

igo pc emph [emphatic word]

i'imaa adv loc there

i'iw pron dem that (inanimate singular)

See also: i'iwe pron dem

i'iwe pron dem that (inanimate singular)

See also: i'iw pron dem

i'iwedi pron dem that over there (inanimate singular)

See also: iwedi pron dem

i'iwidi adv loc over there

See also: iwidi adv loc

ikido vai s/he says, speaks so

ikidoomagad vii it says something a certain way (derived noun) ikidowin ni a word; speaking; a speech
ikidowin ni a speech; a word; speaking

ikidoomagad vii it says something a certain way

Paired with: ikido vai

iko pc asp used to; formerly, previously, some time ago; it was the custom to...

See also: ako pc asp ; ko pc asp

ikobidoon vti2 pull it out of the way, pull it up

Paired with: ikobizh vta

(verb of undergoing) ikobijigaade vii it is pulled up out of the way, "they" pull it up out of the way
ikobijigaade vii it is pulled up out of the way, "they" pull it up out of the way

ikobizh vta pull h/ out of the way, pull h/ up

Paired with: ikobidoon vti2

ikodaabaadan vti drag it out of the way

Paired with: ikodaabaazh vta

ikodaabaazh vta drag h/ out of the way

Paired with: ikodaabaadan vti

ikodaabii vai s/he drag, pull a load out of the way

ikogaa vai s/he goes away, gets aside

ikogaabawi vai s/he stands aside, stands out of the way

ikogaabawi' vta make h/ stand aside, out of the way

ikogaabawitaw vta stand aside, of the way for h/

ikogaadeni vai s/he moves h/ leg or legs out of the way

ikogwaashkoni vai s/he jumps up out of the way

See also: ikogwaashkwani vai [NI]

ikogwaashkwani vai [NI] s/he jumps up out of the way

See also: ikogwaashkoni vai

ikojiwan vii

ikokweni vai s/he moves h/ head out of the way

ikokwewebin vta push h/ head out of the way

ikon vta set h/ out of the way

Paired with: ikonan vti

ikonan vti set it out of the way

Paired with: ikon vta

(verb of undergoing) ikonigaade vii it is set out of the way (by someone), "they" set it out of the way (verb of undergoing) ikonigaazo vai s/he is set out of the way (by someone), "they" set h/ out of the way; s/he is evicted (by someone), "they" evict h/
ikonaazhikaw vta chase h/ out of the way

ikonigaade vii it is set out of the way (by someone), "they" set it out of the way

ikonigaazo vai s/he is evicted (by someone), "they" evict h/; s/he is set out of the way (by someone), "they" set h/ out of the way

ikonikeni vai s/he moves h/ arm or arms out of the way

ikonikewebin vta push h/ arm aside

ikoninjiini vai s/he moves h/ hand or hands out of the way

ikoninjiiwebin vta shove h/ hand aside

ikonizhikaw vta chase h/ out of the way

ikonizhikaage vai s/he chases people out of the way

ikosidamaw vta put (it) out of the way for h/, remove it for h/

ikosidoon vti2 put it out of the way, remove it

Paired with: ikoshim vta

(benefactive) ikosidamaw vta put (it) out of the way for h/, remove it for h/ (verb of undergoing) ikosijigaade vii it is put out of the way, removed (by someone), "they" put it out of the way, remove it (verb of undergoing) ikosijigaazo vai s/he is put out of the way, removed (by someone), "they" put h/ out of the way, remove h/
ikosijigaade vii it is put out of the way, removed (by someone), "they" put it out of the way, remove it

ikosijigaazo vai s/he is put out of the way, removed (by someone), "they" put h/ out of the way, remove h/

ikosin vii it lies out of the way

Paired with: ikoshin vai

ikoshim vta put h/ out of the way, remove h/

Paired with: ikosidoon vti2

ikoshin vai s/he lies out of the way, moves h/ body up out of the way

Paired with: ikosin vii

ikotaa vai s/he moves aside, gets out of the way

ikoweba' vta shove h/ aside or out of the way (using something)

Paired with: ikoweba'an vti

ikoweba'an vti shove it aside or out of the way (using something)

Paired with: ikoweba' vta

ikoweba'wi vta

► ikoweba' vta

ikowebin vta push, shove, toss, throw h/ aside or out of the way (with hands)

Paired with: ikowebinan vti

ikowebinamaw vta push, shove, toss, throw (it) aside or out of the way for h/

ikowebinan vti push, shove, toss, throw it aside or out of the way (with hands)

Paired with: ikowebin vta

(detransitive) ikowebinige vai s/he pushes, shoves, tosses, throws things aside or out of the way (verb of undergoing) ikowebinigaade vii it is pushed, shoved, tossed, thrown out of the way (by someone), "they" push, shove, toss, throw it aside or out of the way (verb of undergoing) ikowebinigaazo vai s/he is pushed, shoved, tossed, thown aside or out of the way (by someone), "they" push, shove, toss, throw h/ aside or out of the way (benefactive) ikowebinamaw vta push, shove, toss, throw (it) aside or out of the way for h/
ikowebinigaade vii it is pushed, shoved, tossed, thrown out of the way (by someone), "they" push, shove, toss, throw it aside or out of the way

ikowebinigaazo vai s/he is pushed, shoved, tossed, thown aside or out of the way (by someone), "they" push, shove, toss, throw h/ aside or out of the way

ikowebinige vai s/he pushes, shoves, tosses, throws things aside or out of the way

ikowebishkan vti kick, shove it aside or out of the way (with the foot or body)

Paired with: ikowebishkaw vta

ikowebishkaw vta kick, shove h/ aside or out of the way (with the foot or body)

Paired with: ikowebishkan vti

ikozideni vai s/he moves h/ foot or feet out of the way

ikwa na a louse

(verb of possession) odikomi vai s/he has lice
ikwabi vai
  1. s/he moves out of the way (while seated)
  2. s/he resigns a position

ikwabiitaw vta s/he moves out of h/ way (while seated)

ikwagoodoon vti2 hang it higher, out of the way

Paired with: ikwagoozh vta

ikwagoozh vta hang h/ higher, out of the way

Paired with: ikwagoodoon vti2

ikwa'ibaan ni a pump (for water)

See also: wiikwa'ibaan ni

ikwa'ibii vai s/he pumps, draws water

ikwa'ibaan ni a pump (for water)
ikwa'ibiiwaabo ni well water, pumped water

ikwanagwe vai h/ sleeve is pulled up

ikwanagweni vai s/he rolls up h/ sleeve

ikwanaamo vai s/he breathes in, inhales, takes a deep breath

ikwanaamose vai s/he gasps

ikwanaandan vti sniff, inhale it

ikwanoozo vai s/he inhales; s/he snores

ikwapide vii it is tied up higher, out of the way

Paired with: ikwapizo vai

ikwapidoon vti2 tie it up higher, out of the way

Paired with: ikwapizh vta

ikwapizh vta tie h/ up higher, out of the way

Paired with: ikwapidoon vti2

ikwapizo vai s/he is tied up higher, out of the way

Paired with: ikwapide vii

ikwaabiigin vta pull h/ up with a rope

Paired with: ikwaabiiginan vti

ikwaabiiginan vti pull it up with a rope

Paired with: ikwaabiigin vta

ikwaanzhenan vti turn it (fire, light) up

(detransitive) ikwaanzhenige vai s/he turns the lights or flame up
ikwaanzhenige vai s/he turns the lights or flame up

ikwe na
  1. a woman, a lady
  2. a queen (card)

(verb of pretending) ikwekaazo vai s/he pretends to be a woman (verb of being) ikwewi vai s/he is a woman
(derived noun) ikwewiwin ni womanhood
(verb of possession) odikwemi vai he has a woman, has a wife
ikwe-biitooshkigan ni (item of) women's underwear

ikwe-biizikigan ni an item of women's clothing

ikwe-makizin ni a woman's moccasin or shoe

ikwe-niimi vai s/he dances the women's dance

ikwe-niimi'idiwag vai they dance the women's dance
(derived noun) ikwe-niimi'idiwin ni women's dance
ikwe-niimi'idiwag vai they dance the women's dance

(derived noun) ikwe-niimi'idiwin ni women's dance
ikwe-niimi'idiwin ni women's dance

ikweginan vti hold or put it (something sheet-like) higher, out of the way

(detransitive) ikweginige vai s/he holds or puts something (sheet-like), higher, out of the way out of the way (verb of undergoing) ikweginigaade vii it (sheet-like) is held or put higher, out of the way (by someone)
ikweginigaade vii it (sheet-like) is held or put higher, out of the way (by someone)

ikweginige vai s/he holds or puts something (sheet-like), higher, out of the way out of the way

ikwekaazo vai s/he pretends to be a woman

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

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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.