niyebe
/niˈebe/
Snow in Tagalog is niyebe.
niyebe refers to the crystalline state of water falling from the sky as precipitation or the white layer of accumulation on the ground. Because the Philippines is a tropical country, speakers almost exclusively use this word when discussing foreign climates or weather occurring in other countries.
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)
How do you pronounce it?
/niˈebe/
Did you know?
- The root of niyebe can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European word *sneygʷʰ-, making it a distant relative of the English word 'snow'.
- Because the Philippines is tropical, Tagalog has no native pre-colonial word for 'snow'. The language adopted a foreign word because the phenomenon does not occur naturally in the archipelago.
- While niyebe describes the substance, the word for the act of snowing is often treated as a foreign concept, and speakers might use 'mag-snow' by combining the English root with a Tagalog prefix.
Examples in context
- Ang ulan ay naging niyebe.The rain turned into snow.This sentence is useful for showing how rain can change into niyebe.Tatoeba #8984074 by fishda, translation #2618207 by CK
- Natabunan si Tom ng niyebe.Tom is trapped under the snow.This sentence shows how a person can be covered or trapped by niyebe.Tatoeba #11585997 by qwertzu, translation #8371604 by CK
- Malamang uulan ng niyebe bukas.It'll most likely snow tomorrow.This sentence is useful for expressing a prediction that it will niyebe tomorrow.Tatoeba #11640984 by qwertzu, translation #11453609 by Nuel
- 17 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maria and Ricardo are looking out the window at a winter scene.
- MariaAng ganda ng niyebe sa labas.The snow outside is beautiful.
- RicardoOo, ang puting-puti ng lahat.Yes, everything is so white.
- MariaGusto mo bang lumabas at maglaro?Do you want to go out and play?
- RicardoSige, Maria, magsuot ka ng makapal na damit.Sure, Maria, wear thick clothes.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “snow” translations and entries niyebe, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
