霰(あられ)

あられ
noun
graupel; soft hail
weather
1. graupel; soft hail
Small pellets of ice that fall from the sky, smaller than hailstones (雹).
霰(あられ)が降(ふ)ってきた。
Soft hail started to fall.
霰(あられ)が窓(まど)に当(あ)たる音(おと)がする。
I can hear soft hail hitting the window.
冬(ふゆ)の日本海側(にほんかいがわ)では霰(あられ)が多(おお)い。
There's a lot of graupel on the Japan Sea side in winter.

霰(あられ) refers to small ice pellets that fall from clouds, technically called graupel. Distinct from 雹(ひょう) (hailstones), which are larger.

Similar words

  • 霰(あられ): ice pellets under 5mm in diameter
  • 雹(ひょう): hailstones 5mm or larger

Related words

Common patterns

Usage

あられ also refers to small cube-shaped rice crackers (霰(あられ)餅(もち)), named for their resemblance to hail pellets.

Related Words

Compare: 雹(ひょう) (hail (larger, 5mm+))
Related: 霙(みぞれ) (sleet (rain + snow))
Related: 雪(ゆき) (snow)
Related: 吹雪(ふぶき) (blizzard)
general
Added 2026.1.16 14:48 · Revised 2026.10.7 9:21
05000/05392_arare