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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

waabandiwag vai they see each other

waabandizo vai s/he sees h/ self

waabandizowin ni a mirror

waabange vai s/he observes people, is a spectator, is a witness

waabani- pv lex east

waabani-noodin ni east wind

waabani-noodin vii there is an east wind

waabanidaabii'iwe vai s/he drives until daylight

waabanishi vai s/he lasts through night; s/he lasts through winter

waabanishimo vai s/he dances until daylight

waabanjigaade vii it is seen (by someone), "they" see it

waabanjigaazo vai s/he or it (animate) is seen (by someone), "they" see h/ or it (animate)

waabanong adv loc in the east; to the east

waabanoo na a participant in the Wabenowin

(verb of being) waabanoowi vai s/he participates in the Wabeno dance
(derived noun) waabanoowiwin ni Wabenowin
waabanoo- pv lex Wabenowin

waabanoo-nagamo vai s/he sings a Wabeno song

waabanoo-nagamon ni Wabeno song

waabanoo-niimi'idiwin vai Wabeno dance

waabanoowi vai s/he participates in the Wabeno dance

waabanoowiwin ni Wabenowin

waabasim na a grey or light-colored dog or horse

waabashkiki ni [LL] [ML] a swamp, a muskeg

(verb of being) waabashkikiiwan vii it is swampy
waabashkikiiwan vii it is swampy

waabaabigan na white clay

(verb of abundance) waabaabiganikaa vii there is (a lot of) white clay Gaa-waabaabiganikaag name place White Earth Reservation
waabaabiganikaa vii there is (a lot of) white clay

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.