bineshiinh
The Ojibwe word for bird is bineshiinh.
bineshiinh is used to refer to a bird as an animal.
Meaning: animal (noun)
Did you know?
- Because Ojibwe is a polysynthetic language, a single word can often function as an entire English sentence, meaning a word related to 'bird' could also mean 'it is a bird flying'.
- In Ojibwe culture, the Thunderbird is a powerful spirit often referred to as animikiig, which is a distinct word from the general term bineshiinh for birds.
- In Ojibwe, the word bineshiinh belongs to the 'animate' grammatical gender, which means the language treats birds as living beings with agency, regardless of whether they are alive or dead.
Examples in context
- Bineshiinh wenzhibii.There is a bird nearby.
Example conversation
Nibi and Zhaawan are walking in the forest.
- NibiZhaawan, bineshiinh waabamaa!Zhaawan, look at the bird!
- ZhaawanAaniizi bineshiinh?Which bird?
- NibiGaa-wiidookaan bineshiinh.The bird that is singing.
- ZhaawanMiigwech, Nibi.Thank you, Nibi.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bird” translations and entries bineshiinh, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
