Ojibwe
/əˈdʒɪbweɪ/
"ojibwe" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Ojibwe” is uncommon English (frequency #90,792 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #90,792
- frequency rank, English
- 1,431
- “O” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The language spoken by the native Algonquin people of central Canada, one of a closely related group of languages and dialects of the Algonquian branch of the Algic language family.
Corpus desk
Index EN-ojibwe · Ojibwe · English
Ojibwe · rank #90,792 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #90,792
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,431
- PHOTO-FINISH Okun
Nearest frequency peer: Okun (+1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “Ojibwe”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- oblongata
oblongata
9,213 corpus weight
- obstinately
obstinately
9,212 corpus weight
- ocher
ocher
9,211 corpus weight
- Ojibwe
Ojibwe
9,209 corpus weight
- Okun
Okun
9,208 corpus weight
- olla
olla
9,205 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “Ojibwe” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Ojibwe |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /əˈdʒɪbweɪ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #90,792 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “Ojibwe” in English
Rare enough to double-check
Ojibwe is uncommon English at frequency #90,792 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed /əˈdʒɪbweɪ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The language spoken by the native Algonquin people of central Canada, one of a closely related group of languages and dialects of the Algonquian branch of the Algic language family.".
Ojibwe doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in English around 1700 (and attested in early French as Outchibouec), from the Ojibwe name of an individual band of Ojibwe, of unclear origin. The most widely accepted theory connects it to Ojibwe ojibwaakide (“it shrivels, it puckers in the … The correct English form is Ojibwe, spelled O-J-I-B-W-E.
Definition
- 1The language spoken by the native Algonquin people of central Canada, one of a closely related group of languages and dialects of the Algonquian branch of the Algic language family.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how Ojibwe appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
On a Tuesday in April 2017, Janet Macbeth composed an all-office email. “My story,” read the subject line in Nishnaabemwin, the Ojibwe language. “Hello everyone,” the email continued in Nishnaabemwin. “My name is Janet.”
Endangered language communities would be thrilled with and proud of that kind of exposure for their language, like when Star Wars was dubbed into Navajo and Ojibwe.
Etymology
First attested in English around 1700 (and attested in early French as Outchibouec), from the Ojibwe name of an individual band of Ojibwe, of unclear origin. The most widely accepted theory connects it to Ojibwe ojibwaakide (“it shrivels, it puckers in the fire”), in reference to the puckering or tightening of moccasins at their seams or near fire. Alternatively, Helen Tanner and Edmund Danzinger connect it to the Ojibwe practice of writing on birch bark or making pictographs, respectively; compare ozhibii' (“write (someone's name) down”). Other, less credible theories: Other, less likely suggestions include: Henry Schoolcraft derived it from a word *bwe "pertaining to voice" ((compare bedowe (“have a soft voice”)), and like George Belcourt, believed it referred to a peculiarity of the tribe's (language's) pronunciation. Some other works connect it to the word for puckering the lips, which however is bajiishkidooneni (“she or he puckers the lips”), or assert that it refers to roasting captives until their flesh puckered, but this was not a common practice and is improbable as a self-designation.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "Ojibwe"?
What does "Ojibwe" mean?
How do you pronounce "Ojibwe"?
What is the origin of the word "Ojibwe"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Ojibwe", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).