sneachta
/ˈʃnʲaxt̪ˠə/masculine
The Irish word for snow is sneachta.
sneachta refers to the crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as flakes, the act of those flakes falling or the accumulation of them as a white layer.
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)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The noun sneachta is masculine. To express the verb phrase 'to have snow fall from the atmosphere', use sneachta a chur.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈʃnʲaxt̪ˠə/
Did you know?
- In Irish folklore, snow is sometimes associated with the 'winter hag' or figures of the Sidhe, where a sudden snowfall could be seen as a veil between the human world and the spirit realm.
- The word sneachta shares a common linguistic ancestor with the Latin word 'nix', which is the root of the English word 'niveous' meaning snowy.
- While 'sneachta' is the noun, the Irish language possesses a vast, poetic vocabulary for different types of snow, such as 'sneachta mianach' for powdery snow.
Examples in context
- Beidh sé ag cur sneachta amárach.It'll snow tomorrow.Tatoeba #1345233 by Chrikaru, translation #323299 by CK
- Tá an sneachta bán ar an mháinne.The white snow is on the lawn.
- Ní maith liom an sneachta.I do not like the snow.
Example conversation
Oisín and Aoife are looking out the window.
- OisínAn bhfuil sneachta amuigh?Is there snow outside?
- AoifeTá, tá an talamh bán.Yes, the ground is white.
- OisínBaiguinn mé an sneachta.I love the snow.
- AoifeIs maith liom é freisin.I like it too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “snow” translations and entries sneachta, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
