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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

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

Paired with: makadewaabiigad vii

makadewaagamin vii it (a liquid) is black, is dark

makadewaagonagaa vii it is dark dirty snow

makadewaako-manoomin ni black wild rice

makadewaakominagad vii it is dark-grained

makadewaakozi vai s/he is black (as something stick- or wood-like)

Paired with: makadewaakwad vii

makadewaakwad vii it is black (as something stick- or wood-like)

Paired with: makadewaakozi vai

makadewaanakwad vii it is a dark cloud

See also: makadeyaanakwad vii

makadewaanakwagoode vii there are dark clouds in the sky

makadewaande vii it is colored black

Paired with: makadewaanzo vai

makadewaanikwe vai s/he has black hair

makadewaanowe vai s/he (an animal) has a black tail

See also: makadeyaanowe vai

makadewaanzan vti dye, color it black

makadewaanzo vai s/he is colored black

Paired with: makadewaande vii

makadewaawangad vii it (granular) is black, is dark

Paired with: makadewaawangizi vai

makadewaawangizi vai it (animate; granular) is black, is dark

Paired with: makadewaawangad vii

makadewegad vii it (sheet-like) is dark, is black

Paired with: makadewegizi vai

makadewegin ni black cloth

makadewegizi vai it (animate; sheet-like) is dark, is black

Paired with: makadewegad vii

makadewibii' vta paint h/ or it (animate) black

Paired with: makadewibii'an vti

makadewibii'an vti paint it black

(detransitive) makadewibii'ige vai s/he paints (things) in black (verb of undergoing) makadewibii'igaazo vai it (animate) is painted black (by someone)
makadewibii'igaazo vai it (animate) is painted black (by someone)

makadewibii'ige vai s/he paints (things) in black

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

makadewigwan na a black feather

See also: makade-miigwan na

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.