Photo by Handerson Gomes
It has been said that Eskimos have more than thirty different words to describe snow. I have shoveled snow a dozen or so times, and thrown snowballs a few more. Snow is snow if you ask me, but Eskimos tell otherwise, and I will listen to what they have to say. I see snow from time to time, but they live it. According to the Inupiat Eskimo Dictionary by Webster and Zibell, there are 32 types. I came across 30:
- apun: snow
- apingaut: first snowfall
- aput: spread-out snow
- kanik: frost
- kanigruak: frost on a living surface
- ayak: snow on clothes
- kannik: snowflake
- nutagak: powder snow
- aniu: packed snow
- aniuvak: snowbank
- natigvik: snowdrift
- kimaugruk: snowdrift that blocks something
- perksertok: drifting snow
- akelrorak: newly drifting snow
- mavsa: snowdrift overhead and about to fall
- kaiyuglak: rippled surface of snow
- pukak: sugar snow pokaktok: salt-like snow
- miulik: sleet massak: snow mixed with water
- auksalak: melting snow
- aniuk: snow for melting into water
- akillukkak: soft snow
- milik: very soft snow
- mitailak: soft snow covering an opening in an ice floe
- sillik: hard, crusty snow
- kiksrukak: glazed snow in a thaw
- mauya: snow that can be broken through
- katiksunik: light snow katiksugnik: light snow deep enough for walking
- apuuak: snow patch
- sisuuk: avalanche
7 Comments
Not very impressed. Is really avalanche a type of snow?
This is some of the snowtypes that I use regulary in Norwegian.
Sludd - Snowing, very wet
Slaps - On ground, very wet
Sørpe - On ground, half water/snow
Pudder - On ground, powder very light
Snø - Snow
Skare - On ground, ice on top, snow under.
Kornsnø - On ground, grain snow
Kramsnø - On ground, little wet, fresh snow
Hagl - Snowing, hard snow
Silkeføre - Fresh snow, good for skiing
Klabbesnø - Wet snow, bad for skiing, stick to the skies
Fjon - Snowing, very very light snow
snøfille - Snowing, one flake of snow, light
snøflak - Snowing, one flake of snow, big
Frostrøyk - In air, icecrystals in air
Kunstsnø - Snowing, man made snow
Fjorårssnø - On ground, last year snow, often grainy
Nysnø - On ground, fresh snow
To be quite honest i actually think there are more names for snow in Norwegian, than Eskimo…
Vegar,
Proves what little I know about snow. I woke up this morning to an inch of snow on the ground, and local schools were closed. In Seattle, heavy snow accumulation is rare. Sounds like Norway is an excellent place to see different types of snow.
Wow, there are a lot of different words for snow.
In Canada we have lots of snow but we just call it all slow. There are a few variants like slush, and then some adjectives like light, heavy, wet and some terms for what the snow is good for like packing.
I never knew there could be so many words for snow though.
Hello Stefanie,
Sorry about the delayed response. I didn’t know snow was called slow in Canada. Maybe, I’ll start using that term and see how other people respond.
In Australia we have snow at the snow fields, but thats like the highest mountains in the country and only a very small area…..I’ve only seen snow like 3 times in my life!
Amazing that there are so many words for it in other languages
Hello Homish,
Until I left California, I had only seen snow a few times as well. Australia may not be known for its snow, but I have heard amazing things about the country! I hope to visit some time.
Actually, no, this is myth.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskimo_words_for_snow