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onapide vii it is tied in place

Paired with: onapizo vai

onapidoon vti2 tie it in place

Paired with: onapizh vta

(detransitive) onapijige vai s/he ties things in place; s/he harnesses up
onapijige vai s/he harnesses up; s/he ties things in place

onapizh vta tie h/ in place, harnesss h/

Paired with: onapidoon vti2

onapizo vai s/he or it (animate) is tied in place, is harnessed

Paired with: onapide vii

onashkid nid its tail (of a bird)

onashkinachige vai [N] s/he packs, loads things in

onashkinade vii it is loaded

onashkinadoon vti2 [S] pack, load it

Paired with: onashkina' vta See also: onashkinatoon vti2 [N]

onashkina' vta pack, load h/ (e.g., a pipe)

Paired with: onashkinadoon vti2 [S] ; onashkinatoon vti2 [N]

onashkinatoon vti2 [N] pack, load it

Paired with: onashkina' vta See also: onashkinadoon vti2 [S]

onaw nid h/ cheek

See also: onow nid [ML]

onaabam vta choose, select, pick h/ (by sight)

See also: onaabandan vti

onaabanad vii there is a crust on the snow

onaabandamaw vta choose, select, pick it (by sight) for h/

onaabandan vti choose, select, pick it (by sight)

Paired with: onaabam vta

(detransitive) onaabanjige vai s/he chooses, selects, picks things (by sight) (verb of undergoing) onaabanjigaade vii it is chosen, selected, picked (by someone), "they" choose, select, pick it (by sight) (verb of undergoing) onaabanjigaazo vai s/he or it (animate) is chosen, selected, picked (by someone), "they" choose, select, pick h/ or it (animate) (by sight) (benefactive) onaabandamaw vta choose, select, pick it (by sight) for h/
onaabani-giizis na March

onaabanjigaade vii it is chosen, selected, picked (by someone), "they" choose, select, pick it (by sight)

onaabanjigaazo vai s/he or it (animate) is chosen, selected, picked (by someone), "they" choose, select, pick h/ or it (animate) (by sight)

onaabanjige vai s/he chooses, selects, picks things (by sight)

onaabeman nad her husband

onaabemi vai s/he has or gets a husband

onaabikishim vta set h/ (rock or metal) in place; set h/ (a clock)

onaabikizh vta cut h/ (mineral) to shape, cut h/ out of metal

Paired with: onaabikizhan vti

onaabikizhan vti cut it (mineral) to shape, cut it out of metal

Paired with: onaabikizh vta ; onaabikizhwi vta [NI]

onaabikizhwi vta [NI]

► onaabikizh vta

onaagan ni a dish, a plate

(derived noun) onaaganens ni [BL] a cup; a small dish (derived noun) onaagaans ni a cup; a small dish
onaaganens ni [BL] a cup; a small dish

See also: onaagaans ni

onaagaans ni a cup; a small dish

See also: onaaganens ni [BL]

onaagibidoon vti2 bend it to into shape

Paired with: onaagibizh vta

onaagibizh vta bend h/ into shape

Paired with: onaagibidoon vti2

onaagin vta bend it (animate) into shape, shape it by hand

Paired with: onaaginan vti

onaaginan vti bend it into shape, shape it by hand

Paired with: onaagin vta

onaagonen vta s/he forms or shapes it (animate) as snow

onaagoshi-miijin vti3 eat it for supper

onaagoshi-wiisini vai s/he eats supper

onaagoshi-wiisiniwin ni supper

onaagoshin vii it is evening

onaakon vta decide on, judge, sentence h/

Paired with: onaakonan vti

onaakonan vti decide on, plan, judge it

Paired with: onaakon vta

(detransitive) onaakonige vai s/he decides, plans, judges something; s/he is in court (derived noun) onaakonigewin ni a decision, a policy, a law
onaakonige vai s/he is in court; s/he decides, plans, judges something

onaakonigewin ni a decision, a policy, a law

onaakosidoon vti2 set it up as a frame

onaan nid [LL] [RL] h/ calf (of the leg)

onaanan nad [ML] h/ calf (of the leg)

onaasin vii

ondadamon vii it (road or trail) leads from a certain place

ondadaawangose vai s/he walks from a certain place on sand

ondadaawe vai + o s/he buys (it) from a certain place

ondademo vai s/he cries for a certain reason, comes from a certain place crying

ondadewe vai s/he comes, goes, walks from a certain place on the snow crust

ondagoode vii it falls, hangs from a certain place

Paired with: ondagoojin vai

ondagoojin vai s/he or it (animate) hangs, falls from a certain place

Paired with: ondagoode vii

onda'adoo vai s/he comes from a certain place on a path or trail

onda'amaazo vai s/he comes from a certain place singing

onda'ibaan ni a source of water, a well

onda'ibii vai s/he gets, draws water from a certain place

onda'oozh vta transport h/ from a certain place [especially in a boat]

ondakii'ige vai [S] s/he poles a boat from a certain place

See also: ondakii'o vai [BL]

ondakii'o vai [BL] s/he poles a boat from a certain place

See also: ondakii'ige vai [S]

ondakwazhiwe vai s/he paddles from a certain place; s/he swims from a certain place (as a fish)

ondam vta eat h/ from a certain place

Paired with: ondandan vti

ondamakamigizi vai s/he is busy with an activity

ondamanjige vai s/he is busy eating

ondamanokii vai s/he is busy working

ondamanoozo vai s/he is occupied smoking tobacco

ondamataage vai s/he is busy gambling or playing cards

ondamaajimo vai s/he is busy telling a story or the news

ondamaajimotaadiwag vai they are bus talking, conversing with each other

ondamaakizige vai s/he is busy with drinking

ondamaanagidoone vai [N] s/he is busy talking

ondamaawaso vai s/he is tied up with children

ondamaazakonenjige vai s/he is busy shining game

ondamendam vai2 s/he is preoccupied, is worried

ondamendan vti be preoccupied with, worry about it

Paired with: ondamenim vta

ondamendi vai s/he is busy, engaged elsewhere

ondamenim vta be preoccupied with, worry about h/

ondami- pv lex be busy at

ondamibii vai s/he is busy drinking

ondami' vta get in h/'s way; hinder h/; keep h/ busy or occupied

(reciprocal) ondami'idiwag vai they get in each other's way, keep each other busy (detransitive) ondami'iwe vai s/he keeps people busy
ondami'idiwag vai they get in each other's way, keep each other busy

ondami'iwe vai s/he keeps people busy

ondamim vta keep h/ busy with speech

ondamingwaami vai [RL] s/he is fast asleep

ondamingwaamo vai [BL] s/he is fast asleep

See also: ondamingwaami vai [RL]

ondamishkan vti be busy with it, occupy it

(verb of undergoing) ondamishkigaade vii it is kept busy, is occupied by someone
ondamishkaa vai s/he goes and does something, gets involved in something

ondamishkigaade vii it is kept busy, is occupied by someone

ondamitam vai2 s/he is busy listening

ondamitaa vai s/he is kept busy in an activity

ondamiwidoon vti2 keep it too long, monopolize the use of it

Paired with: ondamiwizh vta

ondamiwizh vta keep h/ too long

Paired with: ondamiwidoon vti2

ondamizi vai s/he is busy

ondamiikan vti be busy at it, busy working on it

Paired with: ondamiikaw vta

ondamiikaw vta be busy working on h/

Paired with: ondamiikan vti

ondamon vii [BL] it (road or trail) comes from a certain place; it leads from there

ondamoonzhe vai s/he is occupied with, busy with children

ondanaandam vai2 s/he comes from a certain place hungry

ondandan vti eat it from a certain place

Paired with: ondam vta

(detransitive) ondanjige vai s/he eats from there, gets h/ food from there
ondanjige vai s/he eats from there, gets h/ food from there

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

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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.