Anishinaabemowin is a language focused on describing the world and the action that takes place in it. To use the verbs you will need to know the pronouns. These are the basic ingredients of speech: a root verb and words to show who is doing whatever you are describing. It is important to learn the seven pronouns and how they are used.

* Eastern dialect variations shown in parentheses below

Niin is the word for both “me” and “I.”

Giin is the word for “you,” meaning just one other person who is being spoken to.

Wiin is the word for “he,” “she,” “him,” and “her.” There is no indication of male or female. This is just one person other than the person speaking or the person listening. We can use the context to find out if he or she is male or female when necessary. Compared to English, this is an elegant way to avoid choosing “he” or “she” when often we don’t know and don’t want to make assumptions.

Niinawind (Niinwi) is the word for “us” or “we.” Because there are two words for “us” in Anishinaabemowin, the easiest definition to use is “just us” because “niinawind” does not include the person being spoken to. For that reason it is sometimes called “exclusive.” Think of it as “niin / me” and some other people, not including you. An example that helps explain this word would be a couple of kids telling a busy Mom, “we are going out to play.” This would be the exclusive form because Mom is not going out to play with them.

Giinawind (Giinwi) is another word for “us” or “we.” Because there are two words for “us” in Anishinaabemowin, the easiest definition to use is “all of us” because “giinawind” does include the person you are speaking to. For that reason it is sometimes called “inclusive.” Think of it as “giin / you” and some other people, including me. An example that helps explain this word would be a busy Mom saying to kids, “we are all going to work together now.” In Anishinaabemowin the Mom can be very clear that she is including all the children in her statement.

Giinawaa is a word for “you all’ meaning all of the people a person might be speaking to. This is another instance of Anishinaabemowin giving more specific detail than English. In English the word “you” is used for both one person and a group. In Anishinaabemowin speakers are able to clarify who is included in a statement.

Wiinawaa is the word for “them.” Like “wiin” there is no indication of male or female this is just a group of people other than you or I.

Memorize the following chart. Note that both the long and short spelling variations are given here.

IPV-Pronoun Chart