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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

madweyaandagaasin vii the boughs can be heard blowing in the wind

madweyaanike vai s/he is heard digging

madweyaanimad vii it is audible wind, "you" can hear the wind

madweyaasin vii it is heard blowing in the wind

Paired with: madweyaashi vai

madweyaashi vai it (animate) is heard blowing in the wind; s/he or it (animate) is heard soaring, sailing

Paired with: madweyaasin vii

madweyaashkaa vii waves can be heard, "you" can hear the waves

madweyoone'ige vai s/he makes noise on a canoe or boat

madwezan vti crack it (mineral) with fire or blasting

(detransitive) madwezige vai s/he is heard firing
madwezhaazo vai s/he can be heard urinating

madwezige vai s/he is heard firing

madwezigoshkaa vii ice moves making noise

madwezigwadin vii the sound of ice cracking is heard

madwezigwa'ige vai s/he is heard chopping ice

magozigoshin vai it (animate; a sled or sled runner) is iced up; s/he or it (animate) is coated with ice

magoodaas ni [BL] a dress

(verb of making) magoodaasike vai s/he makes a dress or dresses
magoodaasike vai s/he makes a dress or dresses

magwaagoneshin vai s/he lies covered with snow, is covered with snow (so only h/ shape or contour can be seen)

magwegishin vai s/he lies as a mound under blanket (sheet-like)

ma'ibimaan

ma'iingan na a wolf

[
timberwolf / gray wolf
; 
Canis lupus
]

(verb of being) ma'iinganiwi vai s/he is a wolf
ma'iinganasim na a German shepherd

ma'iinganaanow ni a wolf's tail

ma'iingani-nagwaagan ni a wolf snare

ma'iinganiwayaan na a wolf hide

ma'iinganiwi vai s/he is a wolf

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.