French word

neige

Pronunciation

IPA/nɛʒ/

Meaning

  • feminine nounsnow

Example

Les enfants jouent dans la neige.

The children are playing in the snow.

Illustration for neige (snow)

More examples

La route est glissante à cause de la neige.

The road is slippery because of the snow.

Core concept

Loose white ice crystals arriving from the sky and gathering into a layer on land.

Common phrases

  • une couche de neige

    a layer of snow

  • une tempête de neige

    a snowstorm

  • un flocon de neige

    a snowflake

Similar words

pluie: Water droplets falling from the sky.
glace: Hard ice formed when water freezes.

Definition in French

Substance blanche composée de cristaux de glace ou phénomène de ces cristaux qui tombent et s'accumulent.

Word origin

Its Old French form developed from Latin nix, nivis, and is related to German Schnee through an older Indo-European root for snow.

Usage tips

  • Weather uses the impersonal expression il neige, not elle neige, even though neige is feminine.

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word