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How to use the Ojibwe People's Dictionary

waabaanakwad vii it is grey sky, grey clouds

waabaaso vai it (animate) fades, is faded (from light)

Paired with: waabaate vii

waabaate vii it fades, is faded (from light)

Paired with: waabaaso vai

waabi vai s/he has vision, sees

waabi- pv lex grey, (off)white

waabi-bizhiki na a grey or light-colored cow or ox

waabi-makade ni smokeless gunpowder

waabi-makwa na a white bear

waabi-manoomin ni white rice

waabide vii it turns light (in color)

Paired with: waabizo vai

waabigan na clay

(verb of making) waabiganike vai s/he works or plays with clay; s/he makes plaster or cement waabiganikaade vii
  1. it is made of clay, made of plaster, made of concrete
  2. it is in a cast
waabiganakamigaa vii there is clayey ground

waabiganidaabaan na a cement truck

waabiganikaa vii there is (a lot of) clay; it has clay

waabiganikaade vii
  1. it is made of clay, made of plaster, made of concrete
  2. it is in a cast

Paired with: waabiganikaazo vai

waabiganikaazo vai s/he is made of clay, plaster, or concrete

Paired with: waabiganikaade vii

waabiganike vai s/he makes plaster or cement; s/he works or plays with clay

waabiganimooday na a ceramic vessel: a jug, a crock

waabigwan ni a flower

(verb of abundance) waabigwaniikaa vii there are (many) flowers
waabigwani-giizis na May

waabigwanii vai it (animate) shows buds, blossoms, leaves

waabigwanii-adaawewigamig ni a flower shop

waabigwanii-gitigaan ni a flower garden

waabigwanii-mazinigwaade vii it is embroidered in a floral pattern

waabigwaniikaa vii there are (many) flowers

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.