This post covers how to say and pronounce the different colors in Ojibwe (also known as Chippewa).
Learning the colors is super important as it allows you to accurately describe things, expand your conversations and understand others better.
So what are the colors in Ojibwe?
Colors In Ojibwe
The main colors in Ojibwe are:
- Red – Miskwaa (Mis-kwah)
- Blue – Ozhaawashkwaa (Oh-zhah-wush-kwah)
- Green – Ozhaawashkwaa (Oh-zhah-wush-kwah)
- Yellow – Ozaawaa (Oh-zah-wah)
- Black – ​​Makadewaa (Muk-uh-day-wah)
- White – Waabishkaa (Wah-bish-kah)
- Gray – Waabijiiyaa (Wah-bi-chee-yah)
- Orange – Misko-ozaawaa (Mis-koh oh-zah-wah)
- Purple – Misko-ozhaawashkwaa (Mis-koh oh-zhah-wush-kwah)
- Pink – Miskoonaagwad (Mis-koon-nah-gwut)
- Brown – Makade-ozaawaa (Muk-kuh-day oh-zah-wah)
- Color – Inaande (I-nahn-day)
As you can see in the above list, the words for ‘green’ and ‘blue’ are the same.
This is because originally the Ojibwe people didn’t really distinguish between the 2 colors in the same way we do now.
Some Ojibwe people now use the word ashkibaa-inaande for green instead. This literally means ‘it is the color of green leaves’.
There are many different dialects of the Ojibwe language which means that some Ojibwe people may use different words for the colors.
Generally, Ojibwe people who speak different dialects can understand each other very well.
This post features the northwestern Ontario dialect.
Color Questions
To ask what color something is in Ojibwe, you can say:
- What color is it? – Aaniin ezhinaagok? (Ah-neen ay-zhin-nah-gok)
You can answer this question just by stating the color word.
To hear the pronunciation of the colors in Ojibwe by a native speaker, check out the below video:
Thanks for reading this post which covers the Ojibwe words for colors.
Knowing how to say the different colors in Ojibwe is super important as it helps to accurately describe things and understand Ojibwe speakers better.
Learn more about the Ojibwe language here.
Related Posts: