goon
Snow in Ojibwe is expressed as goon.
goon refers to the crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere in flakes, the act of those flakes falling or the accumulation of those flakes as a white layer on the ground.
Meaning: partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes, falling of such flakes, accumulation of them as a white layer (noun)
Did you know?
- Ojibwe grammar allows for the creation of 'polysynthetic' words, meaning a single long word can describe an entire scene of 'snow' falling and accumulating without needing separate sentences.
- In many Anishinaabe communities, certain words for snow are treated with a level of respect, as the snow is seen as a provider of water and a way to insulate the earth during the winter.
- The word goon belongs to a language family, Algic, that some linguists believe may have distant, prehistoric connections to languages spoken in Asia.
Examples in context
- Gii-gichi-onzaamiino goon gii-biboonagak.There was a lot of snow this winter.This sentence shows how to describe the amount of goon present during a specific winter.
Example conversation
Miskwaa and Makwa are looking out the window at winter weather.
- MiskwaaMakwa, giizhigad goon!Makwa, it is snowing!
- MakwaEi, aaniish goon waasa gichi-miinamazh.Yes, the snow is almost very deep.
- MiskwaaGidishin goon nishiweniimun.I like the snow.
- MakwaNingiiw goon, gichi-miinamazh.I like snow, it is very deep.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “snow” translations and entries goon, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
