Saturday, February 9, 2013

Snö (Snow)

We have all kind of words for snow in Swedish, and even more in the native language Samiska.
Here in my part of Sweden we have had snow on the ground continuously since 29th November 2012. Last night we got a new layer of 10 cm (4 inches) and it is still snowing slowly outside. I read New Jersey have a blizzard, Nemo. How are you faring on the other side of the Pond? (The Atlantic Ocean)


Snö på svenska: blötsnö, kornsnö, kramsnö, snödrev, pudersnö, lovikkavantar (jättesnöflingor!), frost, slask, skare, nysnö, snöflinga, snötäcke, snöfall, snöstorm, snöyra, snömodd, tösnö, snöglopp, klabbsnö, snöboll, snölykta, snögubbe, snögrotta, snödriva, snöhög, snöskred, hängdriva, snöbro...

LS added - here are some translations of the Swedish snow words EH wrote down:
 blötsnö (wet snow), kornsnö (when the snow is like small grains), kramsnö (perfekt snow for snowballs, 'krama' means hug or squeeze), snödrev (drifting snow due to high wind), pudersnö (powder snow, very cold and powder-like), lovikkavantar (jättesnöflingor!) (snowflakes that are as big as mittens), frost (frost), slask (halfmelted snow, slush), skare (hard frozen layer of snow on top of soft snow, that often breaks through when you step on it), nysnö (newly fallen snow), snöflinga (snowflake), snötäcke (snow cover), snöfall (snowing), snöstorm (snow storm), snöyra (blizzard), snömodd (halfmelted snow, mixed with slush), tösnö (melting snow), snöglopp (sleet), klabbsnö (snow that is melting on the surface in the spring and sticks to your skies, not fun), snöboll (snowball), snölykta (snow light, made from snowballs), snögubbe (snow man), snögrotta (snow cave), snödriva (heap of snow, naturally made, snow drift), snöhög (heap of snow, made by humans usually, snöskred (avalanche), hängdriva (hanging snow drift, which can sometimes becom an avalanche), snöbro (snow bridge, often over small creeks of running water, not very safe to ski over)...

2 comments:

LS said...

We are having a wonderful time in New Jersey. The giant snowstorm missed us mostly, it went north of us, so we only got about 6-7 inches (maybe 20 cm at most). But it is beautiful, all white, wonderful winterland! Of course it is supposed to rain on Monday, but right now, I love it. And tonight it will be very cold (11 F), and all the snow that melted in the sun are freezing to black dangerous ice. But I am not out driving. We are sitting inside, eating great food, and watching old Colombo movies :)

Sarah said...

I love this list. The one that made me smile was, "skare," because I know exactly what this is but don't think there is an English word for it!