1.
snowman
A figure made of packed snow. Traditional Japanese snowmen are made of two stacked snowballs (not three as in Western style).
子どもたちが雪だるまを作った。
The children made a snowman.
庭に大きな雪だるまが立っている。
There's a big snowman standing in the garden.
暖かくなって、雪だるまが溶けてしまった。
It got warm and the snowman melted away.
FORMATION:
雪 (snow) + だるま (達磨, Daruma doll). Named after the round shape of a Daruma doll.
CULTURAL NOTE:
Traditional Japanese 雪だるま are made of two snowballs (head and body), unlike the Western three-ball snowman. The kanji form 雪達磨 exists but hiragana だるま is standard.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 雪だるまを作る (to make a snowman)
- 雪だるまが溶ける (a snowman melts)
- 雪だるま式に増える (to snowball, to increase rapidly — idiomatic)