降雪
kōsetsu[ko̞ːse̞t͡sɨ]
The Japanese word for snowfall is 降雪 (kōsetsu).
降雪 refers to the instance or phenomenon of snow falling. When you need to discuss the specific quantity of snow that has fallen, you can use the term 降雪量. In casual settings, if you want to describe light, scattered or intermittent snowfall where flakes are fluttering down, you might use the phrase 雪がちらついている.
Meaning: instance of falling of snow (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 降雪 is composed of the characters for 'fall/descend' (降) and 'snow' (雪).
Which one should you use?
降雪 refers specifically to the event or phenomenon of snow falling, whereas 雪 is the general word used for the substance 'snow' itself.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
降雪 is a formal, technical or journalistic term typically used in official weather reports or scientific discussions. For a more informal way to describe light snowfall, you can use 雪がちらついている.
How do you pronounce it?
kōsetsu
Did you know?
- The character 降 used in 降雪 to mean 'falling' is the same character used to describe a soldier's 'surrender'.
- Japanese has a specific word 牡丹雪 (botan-yuki) for snowfall consisting of large, fluffy flakes that resemble the petals of a peony flower.
- The character 降 in 降雪 can also be read as 'kō', and it shares the same character used in the word for 'to arrive' or 'to land', as seen in the word for 'airplane landing'.
Examples in context
- 昨夜の降雪量はすごかった。Sakunya no kousetsuryou wa sugokatta.The amount of snowfall last night was amazing.
- 降雪の影響で電車が遅れています。Kousetsu no eikyou de densha ga okurete imasu.The trains are delayed due to the snowfall.
- 明日は降雪の予報が出ています。Ashita wa kousetsu no yohou ga dete imasu.There is a forecast for snowfall tomorrow.
Example conversation
Misaki and Yota are looking at a weather forecast on a phone.
- 美咲 Misaki見て、明日はかなり多い降雪になるみたい。Mite, ashita wa kanari ōi kōsetsu ni naru mitai.Look, it seems there will be quite a lot of snowfall tomorrow.
- 陽太 Yotaえっ、本当？外に出るのが大変だな。E, hontō? Soto ni deru no ga taihen da na.What, really? It'll be hard to go outside.
- 美咲 Misakiうん、陽太は明日、家で過ごしたほうがいいよ。Un, Yōta wa ashita, ie de sugoshita hō ga ii yo.Yeah, Yota, you should stay home tomorrow.
- 陽太 Yotaそうだね。そうしようと思うよ。Sō da ne. Sō shiyō to omou yo.You're right. I think I'll do that.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “snowfall” translations and entries 降雪, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
