ᐊᐳᑦ
apot
The Inuktitut word for snow is ᐊᐳᑦ (apot). Wiktionary also lists ᒪᐅᔭ (maoya).
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)
Ways to say it
| Inuktitut | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ᐊᐳᑦ | apot |
| ᒪᐅᔭ | maoya |
Snow refers to the crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation, the act of these flakes falling or the accumulation of these flakes as a white layer on the ground.
Which one should you use?
ᐊᐳᑦ is the general term used for snow.
How do you pronounce it?
apot
Did you know?
- The myth that Inuit have hundreds of distinct words for 'snow' is a linguistic misunderstanding. Inuktitut is a polysynthetic language, meaning it builds long words by adding parts to a root like ᐊᐳᑦ.
- The Inuktitut writing system used for ᐊᐳᑦ is a syllabary, where each character represents a consonant and a vowel combined.
- While ᐊᐳᑦ is the general word for snow, Inuktitut uses a complex system of suffixes to describe specific types of snow, such as whether it is drifting, falling or slushy.
Example sentences for Inuktitut are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Two people are looking out the window at the weather.
- ᓇᓇᑯᒃ Nanakukᐅᓇ, ᐊᐳᑦ ᐱᕈᔪᖅ.Una, aput pirujuq.Una, it is snowing.
- ᐅᓇ Unaᐊᑲᐅᔪᖅ ᐊᐳᑦ ᐅᓪᓗᒥ.akaujuq aput ullumi.The snow is deep today.
- ᓇᓇᑯᒃ Nanakukᓇᓇᑯᒃ ᐱᖃᖅᑐᖅ ᐊᐳᑦ ᐱᐊᓇᖅᑐᒥᒃ.Nanakuk piqaqtuq aput pianaqtumik.Nanakuk has a snow sled.
- ᐅᓇ Unaᖃᐅᑎᒋᒃ ᐊᐳᑦ ᐊᑲᐅᔪᖅ!qautigik aput akaujuq!Look, the snow is deep!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “snow” translations and entries ᐊᐳᑦ, ᒪᐅᔭ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
