nishiime
The Ojibwe word for sister is nishiime. Wiktionary also lists nimisenh.
Meaning: woman or girl having the same parents (noun)
Ways to say it
| Ojibwe |
|---|
| nishiime |
| nimisenh |
This noun refers to a woman or girl having the same parents.
Which one should you use?
The form nishiime is one way to say sister, while nimisenh is another form used for the same concept.
Did you know?
- Ojibwe kinship terms often change based on whether the relative is the same gender as the speaker, meaning a woman and a man would use different words for their own sister.
- The word 'sister' in Ojibwe can be part of a larger system of 'avoidance speech', where certain relatives are addressed using specific, modified terms to show respect.
- The prefix 'ni-' in nimisenh is a personal pronoun meaning 'my', which means the word literally encodes the relationship 'my sister' into the noun itself.
Example sentences for Ojibwe are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Oma and Zhaawan are looking at a family photograph.
- OmaZhaawan, nishiime aaniin?Zhaawan, where is my sister?
- ZhaawanNishiime nishaa gimiwan.Your sister is right here.
- OmaNishiime nindoonis nigaid.My sister is smiling.
- ZhaawanAawe, nishiime ninaandendawaa.Yes, I love my sister.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sister” translations and entries nishiime, nimisenh, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
