Nishnaabemdaa!!!

While it’s used to identify the collective of tribes who call themselves anishinaabeg and similar: traditionally, this word was used to describe all humans.

Def: “People lowered down from the stars”

Sun - Gimishomisinaan (lit: honorable grandfather)

Moon - Gokomisinaan (honorable grandmother)

Mercury - Oshkaabewis (ceremonial messenger)

Venus - Waaseyaa (it is bright)

Earth - Maamaanaan, Akiing (mother, land)

Mars - Ogichidaa (Chief)

(1st astroidbelt) [inside circle] biinj-ayi'ii (close thing)

Jupiter - Ogimaa (Leader)

Saturn - Gitigaane (Field)

Uranus - Waakwing (on the fish egg)

Neptune - Gichigami (Giant lake)

(2nd astroidbelt) [outside circle] agwaj-ayi'ii (far thing)

Pluto - Naawinaagoz (it is distantly seen)

Starman - Anangowinini

Shooting star - baashkananang

Comet - Gwiingwaan

Big dipper - Ojiig-anang

Little dipper - Obikwanish

Pleiades - Bagonegiizhig

Northern Lights - Waawaate

Indayaa...

Inzegiz: I am afraid

Ninnishkaadiz: I am angry

Nimbigoshkaa: I am broken

Imbakade: I am hungry

Ningiikaj: I am cold

Indoondamiz: I am busy

Indoondamikaw...: I am busy with...

Ningichinendam: I am proud

Ningichinenim...: I am proud of...

Ningizhiz: I am hot

Nimino-ayaa: I am well

Gaawiin nimino-ayaasiin: I am not fine

Ningashkendam: I am sad

Niminawaanigoz: I am happy

Indoonjibaa: I am from (a place)

Noongom niminawaanigoz isa enishinaabemod!

Lmao I make a post explaining a verb type but I don’t delve into the verb types in themselves

Vai: Animate Intransitive Verbs

So this verb type deals with a general subject and no object

Examples:

Wanibaatoo: s/he runs the wrong way

Dakamanji’o: s/he feels cold

Zegiwe: s/he scares people

How to conjugate: Zegiwe.

Inzegiwe (In+verb) - I scare people

Gizegiwe (Gi+verb) - You scare people

Zegiwe (no change) - S/he scares people

Ninzegiwemin (Ni+verb+min) - We (not you) scare people

Gizegiwemin (Gi+verb+min) - We (yes you) scare people

Gizegiwem (Gi+verb+m) - Y’all scare people

Zegiweg (Verb+g)- They scare people

VII: Inanimate Intransitive Verbs

These verbs are often descriptors, meaning that they describe things happening in the environment or characteristics. There usually is no conjugation required for these verbs

Examples:

Mazinaate: it is projected

Wawiyawawiyegad: it is round and cute hawks’s face

Abakamige: the ground is warm

Giizhigad: it is daylight

VTA: Transitive Animate Verbs

I already covered a lot about conjugation and VTAs, but I didn’t cover the basics, plus I might delete that post and post a cleaner lesson.

VTAs deal with both an object and a subject, with the subject being animate (read: Animacy).

Examples:

Dibaakon: Judge (Animate)

-> Gidibaakon: You judge me

Gabaa’: Help (animate) disembark or get off

-> Ningabaa’igonaan: They help us disembark

Wanigwaazh: Make a mistake sewing (animate)

-> Ningii-wanigwaan: I made a mistake sewing it (animate)

VTI: Transitive Inanimate Verbs

These verbs describe actions with inanimate objects. Simple as that.

There are two classes of VTIs, with class two usually ending in -toon, I myself still can’t find the difference between VTI and VTI2 other than that.

Examples:

Wanendan: Forget it

Apiitendan: Be proud of it

Mangitoon: Enlarge it

Izhitoon: Cauae it to be a certain way

As for how to conjugate VTIs? The same way VAIs are conjugated, except VTI class one verbs usually have changes to the endings (that’s probs what classes them to class twos actually now that I think about it).

Niwanendaan - I forget it

Giwanendaan - You forget it

Owanendaan - S/he forgets it

Niwanendaanimin - We (inc) forget it

Giwanendaanimin - We (exc) forget it

Giwanendaam - Y’all forget it

Oof ok so imma get the hardest verb conjugation down first so that it’s out my hair

When I say that this is the hardest type of verb to conjugate, I mean it.

...

Maajitaadaa!!! Lets get started!!!

Infinitive verb used: Amo, to eat (Animate)

Also please note the stem of Amo is Amw- so that w combines with vowels (ex: ind+amw+aa = indamwaa)

Reflexive: X eats x self

Any vta verb that refers to one eating oneself is always reflexive and generally ends in -diz along with proper POV conjugations:

Indamwidiz - I eat myself

Gidamwidiz - You eat yourself

Amwidizo - (Animate) eats self

Amwidizowaan - “The Other” sees itself

Indamwidizimin - We (including you) eat ourselves

Gidamwidizimin - We (excluding you) eat ourselves

Gidamwidizom - Y’all eat Y’allselves

Amwidizoyag - They eat Themselves

Giin: X eats you

Gidamonin - I eat you

Gidamwig - S/he eats you

Gidamwigon - It eats you

Indamwigoo - we (including you) eat you

Gidamwigoo - We (excluding you) eat you, Someone eats you

Gidamwigoog - They eat you

Wiin: X eats him/her (note animacy post)

Indamwaa - I eat him/her

Gidamwaa - You eat him/her

Odamomaan - “The Other” eats him/her

Odamwigon - It eats him/her

Indamwaanaan - We (including you) eat him/her

Gidamwaanaan - We (excluding you) eat him/her

Gidamwaawaa - Y’all eat him/her

Gidamwigoog - They eat him/her

Niinwi: X eats us (including you)

Gidamwimin - You/Y’all eat us

Gidamwig - S/he eats us

Indamwigomin - It eats us

Indamwigonaanig - They eat us

Giinwi: X eats us (Excluding you)

Gidamwimin - You/Y’all eat us

Gidamwig - S/he eats us

Gidamwigomin - It eats us

Gidamwigonaanig - They eat us

Giinawaa: X eats y’all

Gidamwininim - I eat y’all

Gidamwigowaa - S/he eats y’all

Gidamwigonaawaa - It eats y’all

Indamwigoom - We (including you) eat y’all

Gidamwigoom - We (excluding you) eat y’all

Gidamwigowag - They eat you

Wiinawaa: X eats them

Indamwaag - I eat them

Gidamwaag - You eat them

Odamwigowaan - “The other” eats them

Indamwaanaanig - We (including you) eat them

Gidamwaanaanig - We (excluding you) eat them

Gidamwaawaag - Y’all eat them

Awenen: Who

Awenen gii yaa omaa? - Who is here?

Wegonesh, Aaniin: What

Wegonesh yaanig iniwe? What are those?

Aaniin: How, in what way, why

Aaniin ezhi-ayaayaan? - How are you?

Aaniish go daso-gekekokaa? - Why are there so many hawks?

Aaniin ezhinikaazoyaan? - What is your name (lit: in what way are you called?)

Aandii: Where

Aandii izhaayaan? - Where are you going?

Consonants:

B: as in Boy

Ch: as is Chance

D: as in Dog

G: as in Guide

H: as in House

J: as in Joke

K: as in Kayak

M: as in mom

N: as in No

P: as in Pay

S: as in Sand

Sh: as in Shaman

T: as in Tuck

W: as in Wade

Y: as in Y’all

Z: as in Zebra

Zh: like French J, J’aime, or close to Shame in English

Note that there are no F, L, R, V sounds in ojibwe

Vowels

A: like the o in Mother

AA: like the a in Father

E: like Spanish E within words (e in get or send), like ay in Lay at the end of words

I: as in Sit

II: like the “ee” sound, as in see or dream

O: as in go or boat

OO: as in goo or spool

Sample words

Imaa gomaa ayaanan kidiyaanan gigodanishinaabemod:

Here are some sample words to practice pronunciation:

Pane (pan-ay): Always

Kawe (kuh-way): First (in a sequence)

Makoons (muh-koons): Bear cub

Diindisii (deen-di-see): Blue Jay (a bird)

Asabikeshiinh (uh-suh-bi-keh-sheen): Spider

Bikwaakoninjiini (bik-wah-koh-nin-jee-neh): they make a fist

Aazhooningwa’on (ah-jhoon-ehng-wuh-ohn): bandolier bag

Zhakipon (jhuh-kih-pohn): wet snow falls

O’owe kidiyaan gigodanishinaabemom giishpin daa-nishnaabemom:

Y’all can try your hand at this word if y’all are up for a challenge:

Miinibaashkiminaasiganibiitoosijiganibadangwiingweshiganibakwezhigan.

One of the longest words nishnaabemong which means Blueberry Pie:

Miin: blueberry

Baashkiminaasigan: Jam, preserves

Biitoosijigan: something layered

Badangwiingweshigan: lie on the face of something

Animate:

Wa’awe: This

A’awe: That

Ogowe: These

Igiwe: Those

Inanimate:

Owe: This

I’iwe: That

Onowe: These

Iniwe: Those

Obviative:

Onowe: This, These

Nishnaabemowin doesn’t necessarily have gender, rather it classes nouns based on Animacy.

Verbs often structure themselves around whether the noun is animate or inanimate, so to know the Animacy of a noun is important.

Animacy is typically based on whether a noun is a living noun or not, but there are nouns that are animate in Nishnaabemowin that, in the western world, aren’t seen as animate (reproductive organs are a good example of these that are culturally animate).

Animate Nouns

Animate nouns are pluralized using the ending -g

Example: Waagosh (Fox) -> Waagoshag (Foxes)

Animate nouns also use the animate forms of verbs and particles

Example: Wadikwaniwig oweg wadoopag:

Those alders have branches (lit: they have branches those alders)

Typically Animate Nouns:

Living things (plants, animals, etc)

Rocks and earth

Reproductive organs

Inner-body phenomena (blood clots, heart attacks, etc)

Inanimate Nouns

Inanimate nouns are pluralized using -n

Example: Emikwaan (Spoon) -> Emikwaanan (Spoons)

There are also separate verbs and particles for inanimate nouns

Example: Iw Emikwaan Odininaan:

He is holding that spoon

Iniw Emikwaanan Odininaanig

First Person Plural (We):

In ojibwe, the first person plural is separated into “inclusive” and “exclusive” we, referring to whether the object is included within the group or not.

Inclusive we begins with ni- and ends in -min.

Exclusive we begins with gi- and ends with -min

Examples: Indaadawemin: we buy (including you), gidaadawemin: we buy (except you)

When including objects,

Second Person Plural (You):

-> Something people might find confusing is the difference between the exclusive We and second person plural. Exclusive we includes the subject (me) but excludes the object (you), while second person plural includes the object (you) but excludes the subject (me).

Second person plural begins with gi- and ends in -m.

Examples: gidagindaasom: y’all count, gigiizisekwem: y’all cook

Third Person Plural (They):

In working with the third person singular, one uses the infinitive of the verb. With third person plural, one simply pluralizes the verb as if pluralizing a noun (which will be talked about in another post).

Third person plurals end in -ag

Points of view: singular

First person Singular (I):

Verbs always begin with ni-, in-, or im- for verbs that start with B.

Examples: nindagoshin: I arrive, or imbakade: I’m hungry

Second Person singular (Thou):

Verbs always begin with gi- or gid-

Examples: gigawishimo: you lay down, or gidanama’e: you pray

Third Person Singular (He, She, It):

Third person singular also acts as the infinitive in ojibwe.

In the third person, there are two classes: animate and inanimate. Animacy will be talked about in a separate post.

Examples: ayekozi: he/she is tired, ayekwaa: it is tired.

Obviative (Him, Her):

This one gets confusing to some. Think of it as a “fourth person” type of pronoun that elimainates the issue of identification when speaking, the “he vs him” problem. This is a necessary pronoun given that Ojibwe classes only by animacy, so “things” like trees and animals are referred to as “he.”

Verbs and Objects begin with o-.

Examples:

oma’iingan onooji’aan owe nini: the man hunts the wolf

onini onooji’aan owe ma’iingan: the wolf hunts the man

Niibiwak go waaban gaa-gokiwate!