nigig
animate
The Ojibwe word for otter is nigig.
nigig refers to the otter mammal.
Meaning: mammal (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
In Ojibwe, nigig is an animate noun.
Did you know?
- In many Ojibwe traditions, the nigig is viewed as a powerful spiritual messenger that can travel between the physical world and the underwater world.
- Ojibwe kinship terms can sometimes be applied to animals, treating the nigig more like a relative than a wild creature.
- In many Anishinaabe stories, the character of the 'nigig' is often depicted as a clever and mischievous figure, similar to the trickster archetype in other Indigenous oral traditions.
Example sentences for Ojibwe are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Zhaawan and Oma are walking by a river.
- ZhaawanOma, nigig gi-waabam!Oma, look at the otter!
- OmaEhe, nigig aa!Yes, it is an otter!
- ZhaawanNigig waa-nibiizhii.The otter is swimming.
- OmaNigig gichi-biizhii.The otter is very fast.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “otter” translations and entries nigig, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
