Search the dictionary Advanced Search

How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

mako-wiiyaas ni bear meat

mako-zaasiganag na bear cracklings

makobwaam ni a bear hindquarter

makoganzh na a bear claw

makokaazo vai s/he pretends to be a bear

makominagaawanzh na a mountain ash

[
American mountain ash
; 
Sorbus americana
]

makoninj ni a bear paw

makoshtigwaan ni a bear's head

makowi vai
  1. s/he is a bear, becomes a bear
  2. she comes of age, has her first menses

makozid ni a bear's foot, hindpaw

makoons na a bear cub

(verb of being) makoonsiwi vai
  1. s/he is a bear cub
  2. she comes of age, has her first menses
makoonsens na a baby bear cub

makoonsiwi vai
  1. s/he is a bear cub
  2. she comes of age, has her first menses

makoonsiwi-giizis na [BL] February

makwa na a bear

[
black bear
; 
Ursus americana
]

(verb of pretending) makokaazo vai s/he pretends to be a bear (verb of being) makowi vai
  1. s/he is a bear, becomes a bear
  2. she comes of age, has her first menses
makwanii'igan ni a bear trap

See also: mako-wanii'igan ni

makwasaagim na [ML] a bear paw snowshoe

makwasaam na [BL] a bearpaw snowshoe

makwayaan na a bear hide

makwaazh ni a bear den

mamadookizi vai s/he is clumsy

mamadwebiigamitoo vai s/he makes noise in the water

mamadweganaandan vti keep pounding it, keep hitting it audibly

mamadwe'ige vai s/he keeps on pounding audibly

mamadweshkaa vii it makes noise (in motion), creaks repeatedly

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.

  • Audio recordings
  • Images
  • Video
  • Documents

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.