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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

wazhashkwiish ni a muskrat lodge

wazison ni [BL] a nest

See also: wadiswan ni [S] ; waziswan ni [N]

(verb of making) wazisonike vai [BL] s/he makes a nest
wazisonike vai [BL] s/he makes a nest

waziswan ni [N] a nest

See also: wadiswan ni [S] ; wazison ni [BL]

(verb of making) waziswanike vai s/he makes a nest or nests
waziswanike vai s/he makes a nest or nests

waa pc disc [exclamation]

waa- pv tns is going to, will, want to

► wii- pv tns

waabadowe vai s/he has grey fur

waabak na a white bear; a polar bear

waabam vta see h/

Paired with: waabandan vti

(detransitive) waabange vai s/he observes people, is a spectator, is a witness (reciprocal) waabandiwag vai they see each other (reflexive) waabandizo vai s/he sees h/ self
(derived noun) waabandizowin ni a mirror
waabamaawaso vai s/he has a baby

waabamik na an albino beaver

waabamojichaagwaan ni a mirror

waaban vii
  1. it is tomorrow
  2. it is dawn

waabanabi vai s/he sits up until daylight

waabanagekozi vai it (animate) has light colored bark

Paired with: waabanagekwad vii

waabanagekwad vii it has light colored bark

Paired with: waabanagekozi vai

waabana'amaazo vai s/he sings until daylight

waabananokii vai s/he works until daylight

waabanashkidii vai s/he (a bird) has a white tail

waabanda' vta show (it) to h/

(reciprocal) waabanda'idiwag vai they show something to each other, have an exhibition or fair (detransitive) waabanda'iwe vai s/he shows, demonstrates, exhibits (it) to people
waabanda'iwewin ni a show, an exhibition
waabanda'idiwag vai they show something to each other, have an exhibition or fair

waabanda'iwe vai s/he shows, demonstrates, exhibits (it) to people

waabanda'iwewin ni a show, an exhibition

waabandan vti see it

Paired with: waabam vta

(verb of undergoing) waabanjigaade vii it is seen (by someone), "they" see it (verb of undergoing) waabanjigaazo vai s/he or it (animate) is seen (by someone), "they" see h/ or it (animate)

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.