German word

schneien

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈʃnaɪ̯ən/

Meaning

  • verbsnow

Example

Heute schneit es stark.

It's snowing heavily today.

Illustration for schneien (snow)

More examples

Bei stürmischem Wetter schneit es oft heftig und der Verkehr leidet.

In stormy weather, it often snows heavily and traffic suffers.

Core concept

White flakes drift down from a gray sky and settle across the ground.

Common phrases

  • es schneit heftig

    It snows heavily

  • es schneit bis in tiefe Lagen

    It snows down to low-lying areas

  • es schneit nur kurz

    It snows only briefly

Similar words

regnen: Water droplets fall from the sky as rain and wet the ground.
hageln: Ice pellets fall forcefully from the sky, often during a brief storm.
nieseln: Fine rain falls lightly and steadily, like a mist.

Definition in German

Schneien bezeichnet das Fallen weißer Flocken oder Eiskristalle aus der Luft.

Word origin

Schneien is an inherited Germanic verb related to German "Schnee" and English "snow"; its modern infinitive ends in "-en".

Usage tips

  • As a weather verb, "schneien" normally takes the dummy subject "es", as in "Es schneit".

Opposites

Related words

  • schneeweißsnow-whiteadjective
  • der Schneesturmsnowstormnoun
  • Schneeflockesnowflakenoun

Word lists with this word