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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

makade-ozhaawishkwaa vii [NI] it is dark blue, is navy blue

Paired with: makade-ozhaawishkozi vai [NI]

makade-waagosh na a black fox

[
red fox
; 
Vulpes vulpes
]

makadeke vai s/he blackens h/ face with charcoal (as when fasting for a vision)

makadekoozh vta blacken h/ face with charcoal when fasting

makademashkikiwaabo ni coffee

► makade-mashkikiwaabo ni [BL]

makademashkikiwaaboo ni coffee

► makade-mashkikiwaaboo ni [MN]

makademik na a black beaver

makadepwaaganasin na black pipestone

makadewadaawangaa vii there is black sand, a black beach

makadewadis vta dye, color it (animate) black

Paired with: makadewadisan vti

makadewadisan vti dye, color it black

makadewadiso vai s/he is dyed black

Paired with: makadewadite vii

makadewadite vii it is dyed black

Paired with: makadewadiso vai

makadewadowe vai s/he has black fur, has dark fur

makadewakamigaa vii it is black ground

makadewamik na a black beaver

makadewanagekozi vai it (animate) has dark bark

Paired with: makadewanagekwad vii

makadewanagekwad vii it has dark bark

Paired with: makadewanagekozi vai

makadewazhe vai s/he has dark sklin, black skin

makadewaa vii it (canoe) is black, is dark (in color)

Paired with: makadewizi vai

makadewaabate vii it emits black smoke

makadewaabikad vii it is black (as something mineral)

Paired with: makadewaabikizi vai

makadewaabikizi vai
  1. s/he is black (as something mineral)
  2. s/he is in eclipse, there is an eclipse (of the sun or moon)

Paired with: makadewaabikad vii

makadewaabiigad vii it (string-like) is dark, is black

Paired with: makadewaabiigizi vai

makadewaabiigizi vai it (animate; string-like) is black

Paired with: makadewaabiigad vii

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.