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maazhimaagozide vai s/he has smelly feet, has stinky feet

maazhimaagwad vii it smells bad

Paired with: maazhimaagozi vai

maazhimaagwanaamo vai s/he has bad breath

maazhimaagwaagamin vii it (a liquid) stinks

maazhimaam vta find the smell of h/ bad

Paired with: maazhimaandan vti

maazhimaandan vti find it smells bad

Paired with: maazhimaam vta

maazhimaas vta spread a stink by cooking or burning h/

Paired with: maazhimaasan vti

maazhimaasan vti spread a stink by cooking or burning it

Paired with: maazhimaas vta

maazhimaasige vai s/he spreads a stink by cooking or burning something

maazhimaaso vai s/he has a bad aroma, smells bad burning or cooking

Paired with: maazhimaate vii

maazhimaaswi vta [NI]

► maazhimaas vta

maazhimaate vii it has a bad aroma, smells bad burning or cooking

Paired with: maazhimaaso vai

maazhingwaam vai s/he sleeps uncomfortably

maazhinikaade vii it has an ugly name

Paired with: maazhinikaazo vai

maazhinikaazo vai s/he has an ugly name

Paired with: maazhinikaade vii

maazhip vta find h/ tastes bad, dislike the taste of h/

Paired with: maazhipidan vti

maazhipidan vti find it tastes bad, dislike the taste of it

maazhipogozi vai s/he tastes bad

Paired with: maazhipogwad vii

maazhipogwad vii it tastes bad

Paired with: maazhipogozi vai

maazhise vai s/he has things go wrong, has bad luck

maazhisin vii it gets spoiled, turns bad

Paired with: maazhishin vai

maazhishin vai s/he lies uncomfortably

Paired with: maazhisin vii

maazhizide vai s/he has a deformed foot or deformed feet

mechiboode vii it wears down, is worn (from abrasion)

Paired with: mechiboozo vai

mechiboozo vai s/he wears down, is worn (from abrasion)

Paired with: mechiboode vii

mechigwebizo vai s/he gets sore from being rubbed by something tied or worn at the neck

megade vai s/he burps

(verb of addiction) megadeshki vai s/he always is burping (causative) megade' vta burp h/ megadeshkaw vta (inverse only) something makes h/ burp
megade' vta burp h/

megadeshkaw vta (inverse only) something makes h/ burp

megadeshki vai s/he always is burping

megwayaak adv loc in the woods

megwaa adv tmp while; during; right now

megwaa- pv lex while; during; right now

megwaagonag adv loc right in the snow

megwaashkaw vta meet, encounter, run across or into h/ accidentally

megwe- pv lex among; in the midst of

megwe-aya'ii adv loc in among it

megwe-dibik adv tmp during the night, in the middle of the night

megwejiishkiwag adv loc in the mud

megwekob adv loc in the brush, in a thicket

mekadewikonaye na a priest

mekadewikonayed na-v a priest

Paired with: makadewikonaye na

mekadewikonayewikwe na a nun

mekadewikonayewinini na a priest

memaangishens na a mule

meme na a pileated woodpecker

[
pileated woodpecker
; 
Dryocopus pileatus
]

memegwesi na a hairy-faced bank-dwelling dwarf spirit

memengwaa na a butterfly

memeshkod adv man in turn, in exchange

memeshkwad adv man in turns, alternately

See also: memeshkod adv man

memeshkwadoonamaadiwag vai they exchange things with each other

memeshkwajiiwag vai they take turns

memidaaswi qnt num ten each

memindage adv man especially, particularly, above all, of course

memindage go adv man especially, particularly, above all, of course

See also: memindage adv man

memookiwidoo na a pocket gopher

[
plains pocket gopher
; 
Geomys bursarius
]

memwech adv man just that, exactly, it is so

See also: gaawiin memwech adv man ; gego memwech adv pred

menwaagamig ni-v a soft drink; pop

meskwanagekozid na-v cinnamon

meskwananiisi na [BL] a red-tailed hawk

[
red-tailed hawk
; 
Buteo jamaicensis
]

meskwaazhigwaneshi na a redhorse (fish)

[
Moxostoma spp.
]

meshkodakizine vai s/he changes h/ shoes

meshkodendam vai2 [BL] s/he changes h/ (own) mind

meshkodendamo' vta change h/ mind, make h/ change h/ mind

meshkodoon vta trade, exchange h/

Paired with: meshkodoonan vti See also: meshkwadoon vta

meshkodoonamaw vta trade, exchange (it) with h/

See also: meshkwadoonamaw vta

meshkodoonamaage vai s/he trades, exchanges (it) with (people)

See also: meshkwadoonamaage vai

meshkodoonan vti exchange it

Paired with: meshkodoon vta See also: meshkwadoonan vti

meshkojibidoon vti2 change, switch it (with the hands)

Paired with: meshkojibizh vta

meshkojibizh vta change, switch it (animate) (with the hands)

Paired with: meshkojibidoon vti2

meshkojikanebizo vai [BL] s/he changes lanes

meshkojikonaye vai [BL] s/he changes clothes

meshkojikonaye' vta [BL] change h/ clothes

meshkojisidoon vti2 replace it

Paired with: meshkojishim vta

meshkojishim vta change one for other of it (animate), replace it (animate)

Paired with: meshkojisidoon vti2

meshkwad adv man in turn, in exchange

meshkwadabi vai s/he switches h/ seat

meshkwadoon vta trade, exchange h/

Paired with: meshkwadoonan vti See also: meshkodoon vta

meshkwadoonamaw vta trade, exchange (it) with h/

See also: meshkodoonamaw vta

meshkwadoonamaadiwag vai they trade, exchange (it) with each other

meshkwadoonamaage vai s/he trades, exchanges things with people

See also: meshkodoonamaage vai

meshkwadoonan vti trade, exchange it

Paired with: meshkwadoon vta See also: meshkodoonan vti

(detransitive) meshkwadoonige vai s/he trades things, exchanges things (benefactive) meshkwadoonamaw vta trade, exchange (it) with h/
(detransitive) meshkwadoonamaage vai s/he trades, exchanges things with people (reciprocal) meshkwadoonamaadiwag vai they trade, exchange (it) with each other
meshkwadoonige vai s/he trades things, exchanges things

meshkwajigaabawi vai s/he switches h/ position standing

meta adv man it is only that

metasin vta miss (the presence of) h/

Paired with: metasinan vti

metasinan vti miss (the presence of) it

Paired with: metasin vta

metasishin vai s/he misss an event, gets somewhere too late

mewinzha adv tmp a long time ago, long ago

michaya'ii adv loc [N] on the floor; on the ground

See also: michayi'ii adv loc

michayi'ii adv loc on the floor; on the ground

See also: michaya'ii adv loc [N]

michaa vii it is big

Paired with: mindido vai

michaabaminaagwad vii it appears big

michaabikad vii it is big (as something mineral)

Paired with: michaabikizi vai

michaabikizi vai
  1. it (animate; mineral ) is big
  2. it is full (of the moon), there is a full moon

Paired with: michaabikad vii

michaabiigad vii it (string-like) is big, is thick

Paired with: michaabiigizi vai

michaabiigizi vai it (animate; string-like) is big, is thick

Paired with: michaabiigad vii

michaakozi vai s/he is big (as something stick- or wood-like)

Paired with: michaakwad vii

michaakwad vii it (stick-like) is big

Paired with: michaakozi vai

michaakwashkad vii it (plant) has a big stalk

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.