In this post, you will learn how to say ‘how are you?’ in Ojibwe. You’ll also learn common responses so you can respond if you’re asked this question. This can be really useful if you’re speaking with an Ojibwe person or if you’re travelling to a location where it’s spoken.
Ojibwe is an indigenous language of North America. It is spoken by the Ojibwe people in parts of Canada, including Quebec and Ontario, and parts of the United States, including areas in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
There are approximately 100,000 native Ojibwe speakers.
Table of Contents
How To Say ‘How Are You?’ In Ojibwe
There are a few different ways to ask ‘how are you?’. Here are the most common:
| How are you? | Aaniish naa ezh-iyaayen? |
| How are you? (shortened form) | Aaniish naa? |
How To Respond To ‘How Are You?’ In Ojibwe
There are many different ways that you can reply to this question. Below are the most common responses to this question. I’ve also included how to say ‘thank you’ as it’s polite to thank someone if they ask how you are.
| Thank you | Miigwech |
| I’m fine | Niminoyaa gwa |
| I’m fine (shortened form) | Nimino-ayaa |
| I’m not fine | Kaawiin gwa niminoyaasii |
| I’m tired | Nindayekoz |
| I’m sick | Nindaakoz |
| I’m not feeling well | Nimaazhendam |
| I’m angry | Ninishkaadiz |
Check out the below video to hear the pronunciation of some of these phrases. Skip to 5:26 for ‘how are you?’ or watch the whole video for some additional phrases.
It’s also useful to know how to say ‘and you?’ or ‘what about you?’ to find out how someone else is if they ask you.
| And you? | Giin dash? |
Example Conversation:
Person 1: Aaniish naa ezh-iyaayen? (How are you?)
Person 2: Nimino-ayaa, miigwech. Giin dash? (I’m fine, thank you. And you?)
Person 1: Nimino-ayaa (I’m fine)
Thanks for reading this post.
You should now know how to say ‘how are you?’ in Ojibwe and you should also be able to respond if you’re asked!
You can’t go wrong with these simple phrases.
Increase your vocabulary further by learning how to wish someone a happy birthday in Ojibwe.
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