Are you ready to plough through some snow words? These are Japanese vocabulary words you should snow well.
Well, I think that's more than enough hilarious and clever puns for now. Let's get started.
First, the educational part. How do you say "snow" in Japanese?
雪
yuki
snow
Kanji Study
Parts:
- 雨 rain; weather event
- ヨ snow shovel [Apparently, this originally represented a pig's head, but ... that's not helpful.]
Etymology:
- A weather event that requires a snow shovel.
Yuki is also a very common girl's name in Japan, although the kanji is different.
Enough useful information, let's move on to the fun stuff.
1
雪男
MOOD SETTING
雪男はビューティーコンテストに難なく入賞しました。
yuki otoko wa byu-ti-kontesuto ni nan naku nyuushou shimashita.
The Abominable Snowman won the beauty contest hands down.
2
雪女
ABOUT
フロリダに住んでいる人々にとって、雪女はあまり怖くないです。
furorida ni sunde iru hitobito ni totte, yuki onna wa amari kowakunai desu.
As for people living in Florida, the Yuki Onna isn’t very scary.
3
雪
ABOUT
雪だるまのフロスティは、夢だったフロリダ旅行に行きましたが、それは悪夢に終わりました。
yukidaruma no furosuti wa, yume datta furorida ryokou ni ikimashita ga, sore wa akumu ni owarimashita.
Frosty the snowman’s Florida dream vacation ended in a nightmare.
4
雪合戦
ABOUT
雪男は雪合戦が世界一強い。
yuki otoko wa yukigassen ga sekai ichi tsuyoi.
When it comes to snow ball fighting, the Abominable Snowman is the world’s best.
OTHER SNOW WORDS :
- 大雪 oo yuki – heavy snowfall
NOTE: The OO means "big" or "great," and it refers to the quantity of snow
- 人工雪 jin kou yuki – artificial snow
NOTE: attaching JINKOU behind something makes it man-made
- 初雪 hatsu yuki – the first snow of the season
NOTE: The Japanese have a fondness for new things and things that happen first. Other HATSU words include: 初夢 hatsu yume – the first dream of the year; 初恋 hatsu koi – first (puppy) love; 初場所 hatsu basho – the first day of a sumo tournament; 初耳 hatsu mimi – something heard for the first time
- 吹雪 fubuki – snow storm
NOTE: In spring, when the cherry blossoms come this word is recycled as 花吹雪 hana fubuki (falling cherry blossoms)
- 雪祭り yuki matsuri – snow festival, often with ice sculptures
NOTE: During the winter, a number of YUKI MATSURI are held, especially in Hokkaidou where it snows the most.
