In this lesson, I am showing two basic ways of greeting someone. One is the Aanii, which is very common, and the other is Bozhoo, which is more of a ceremonial greeting. "Aanii" can be used most of the time, for example, when answering the telephone. When you use Bozhoo, you have to see the person you are greeting and maybe even greet them with a handshake. We don't have a word for goodbye in our language. In our culture, we are taught that once you meet someone, they are always in your circle, so you don't need to say goodbye. When speaking about yourself, you always begin your word with an "N", as in the pronoun "niin". For example, the word for "I am fine" - "Nminoyaa". If you want to say the word for "you are fine", you say "Gminoyaa", as in the pronoun "giin". Also, the suffix "yin" is another form of "you" singular.
When you use the negative form "not", you use the suffix "sii" in the word, even when you use the words "kaa" or "kaawiin".
In English, when answering the question "what is your name?", you would say your name first and then say, "is my name". Also in English, I often hear people say, "I am so and so (name)". If we in Anishinaabemowin want to say, "I am so and so" we would say, "I am Anishinaabe or Anishinaabe kwe", then we would say our name.
Greeting | English (greeting) | Response | English (response) |
---|---|---|---|
Aanii (casual) | Hi or hello | Aanii (casual) | Hi or hello |
Bozhoo (ceremonial) | Hi or hello | Bozhoo (ceremonial) | Hi or hello |
Aaniish naa ezhiyaayin? | How are you? | Nminoyaa gwa | I am fine. |
Aaniish naa ezhiyaayin? | How are you? | Kaawiin gwa nminoyaasii | I am not fine. |
Aaniish naa ezhiyaayin? | How are you? | Ndaakwaz gwa | I am sick. |
Aaniish naa ezhiyaayin? | How are you? | Giin dash, aaniish naa ezhiyaayin? | And you, how are you? |
Wegnesh ezhinikaazyin? | What is your name? | (name) ndizhinikaaz | (name) is my name |
Giin dash, wegnesh ezhinikaazyin? | And you, what is your name? | (name) ndizhinikaaz | (name) is my name |
Wegnesh maaba ezhinikaazat? | What is his/her name? | (name) wiin zhinkaaza | (name) is his/her name |
Aanii piish enjebayin? | Where are you from? | (place) ndojeba | (place) is where I am from |
Giin dash, aanii piish enjebayin? | And you, where are you from? | (place) ndojeba | (place) is where I am from |
Aanii piish maaba enjebat? | Where is he/she from? | (place) wiin jeba | (place) is where he/she is from |
Aanii piish endaayin? | Where do you live? | (place) ndindaa | (place) is where I live |
Giin dash, aanii piish endaayin? | And you, where do you live? | (place) ndindaa | (place) is where I live |
Aanii piish maaba endat? | Where does he/she live? | (place) wiin daa | (place) is where he/she lives |
Greeting | English (Greeting) | Response | English (Response) |
---|---|---|---|
Miigwech giibinbwaachiweyin | Thank you for visiting with me | Ahaaw | Okay |
Wiingezin | Take it easy | Ahaaw, wiingezin gegii | Okay, you take it easy also |
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Anishinaabemowin Program, Manistee, MI
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