Languages › Spanish Words for Snow in Spanish Share Flipboard Email Print Scene from el Parque Nacional del Teide in Spain. Santiago Atienza/Creative Commons Spanish Vocabulary History & Culture Pronunciation Writing Skills Grammar By Gerald Erichsen Gerald Erichsen Spanish Language Expert B.A., Seattle Pacific University Gerald Erichsen is a Spanish language expert who has created Spanish lessons for ThoughtCo since 1998. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on April 12, 2019 An urban legend has it that the Eskimo language has 25 (or many more, depending on the version) words for snow. While the statement is seriously flawed, it does have some truth to it: Living languages, by their very nature, come up with the words or means to describe nearly everything that people talk about and to differentiate among them. While Spanish may not be a language instantly associated with snow — most Spanish-speaking countries are in moderate climates — it has plenty of words and phrases for the white stuff, as this listing shows. Words and Phrases for Snow and Related Phenomena el agua nieve, el aguanieve: sleet, rain mixed with snow el chubasco: intense snow shower la conchesta: large snowdrift copo, copo de nieve: snowflake la cornisa de nieve: cornice la cubiera de nieve: snow cover cubierto de nieve: snow-covered el cúmulo de nieve: snowdrift la escarcha: frost escarchado: covered with frost el glaciar: glacier la granizada: hailstorm el granizo: hail, sleet, hailstone. The verb form is granizar. el granizo blando: soft hail, graupel, snow pellet la helada: frost helado: (adjective) frozen, very cold el hielo: ice la nevada: snowfall; the amount of snow that has fallen over a period of time without interruption el nevado: snow-capped mountain, snowcap (Latin American usage) nevar: to snow (The Spanish verb is defective in that it is used only in the third-person singular form.) la nevasca: fallen snow, snowfall, snowstorm, blizzard la nevazón: snowstorm (word used in parts of South America) el nevero: permanent mountain snowfield or the snow in such a snowfield la nieve: snow la nieve amontanada: driven snow la nieve artificial: artificial snow la nieve derretida: melted snow, snowbroth la nieve dura: crusty snow, packed snow la nieve fresca: fresh snow la nieve fusión: snow that becomes almost liquid when it is skied or slid upon la nieve húmeda: wet snow la nieve medio derretida: slush la nieve polvo: powder snow; a more colloquial term is nieve azúcar. meaning "sugar snow" la nieve primaveral: spring snow las nieves: snowfall la nieve seca: dry snow la nieve virgen: virgin snow la piedra: hailstone (the word can refer to any type of stone) la ráfaga: flurry (the word can also be used to refer to a rain shower) la tormenta de nieve: snowstorm la ventisca: blizzard ventiscar, ventisquear: to blow snow with a strong wind, to blow a blizzard el ventisquero: snowdrift Spanish Words for Items or Situations Related to Snow aislado por la nieve: snowbound, snowed under, snowed in el alud: avalanche la avalancha: avalanche bloqueado por la nieve: snowbound, snowed under, snowed in la bolita de nieve, la bola de nieve: snowball las cadenas para nieve: snow chains cegado por la nieve: snow-blind el esquí: ski esquiar: to ski la motonieve: snowmobile el muñeco de nieve: snowman la quitanieve, la quitanieves: snowplow la raqueta de nieve: snowshoe el snowboard: snowboard la tabla para nieve: snowboard el traje de invierno: snowsuit, winter clothing Translations of English Words or Phrases Using "snow" Blancanieves: Snow Whitetomarle el pelo a alguien: to do a snow job on someonela nieve, la cocaína: snow (slang term meaning "cocaine")el raspado: snowcone (term used in parts of Latin America) Sample Sentences Siguió nevando todo el día. (It kept on snowing all day.)Si has llegado a tu destino y continúa granizando, no salgas del coche hasta que pare o se debilite la tormenta. (If you have arrived at your destination and it keeps on hailing, don't leave your car until it stops or the storm weakens.)El frío de la noche originó una capa de hielo en el parabrisas. (The cold of the night created a layer of ice on the windshield.)La nieve dura es una de las nieves más difíciles de esquiar. (Packed snow is one of the most difficult snows for skiing.)El nieve polvo de Colorado es legendaria. (The powder snow of Colorado is legendary.)Los turistas de la motonieve han llegado a la meta, totalmente agotados pero muy satisfechos. (The snowmobile tourists have arrived at the destination, totally worn out but very satisfied.)Corríamos el riesgo de quedar bloqueados por la nieve. (We ran the risk of remaining snowed in.)Una fuerte nevada cayó en las altas cumbres, donde la gente llegó a armar muñecos. (A heavy snowfall fell in the high peaks, where people arrived to build snowmen.) Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Erichsen, Gerald. "Words for Snow in Spanish." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/words-for-snow-3079597. Erichsen, Gerald. (2020, August 26). Words for Snow in Spanish. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/words-for-snow-3079597 Erichsen, Gerald. "Words for Snow in Spanish." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/words-for-snow-3079597 (accessed April 1, 2023). copy citation