1.
marbled meat; marbling
Refers to beef or other meat with fine streaks of fat running through it, resembling frost. Highly prized in Japanese cuisine for its tenderness and flavor.
霜降りの肉を買った。
I bought marbled meat.
この霜降り和牛はとても柔らかい。
This marbled wagyu beef is very tender.
霜降りの入った高級な牛肉をすき焼きにした。
We made sukiyaki with high-grade marbled beef.
2.
frost pattern; frosted appearance
A pattern or appearance resembling frost, used to describe textiles, ceramics, or other surfaces with a speckled white-on-dark pattern.
霜降りの着物を着た。
She wore a kimono with a frost pattern.
この皿は霜降り模様が美しい。
This plate has a beautiful frosted pattern.
白と灰色の霜降りの生地でコートを仕立てた。
The coat was tailored from a white and gray heathered fabric.
When referring to meat, 霜降り describes the fine white fat marbling that runs through red meat, creating a pattern that looks like frost (霜). This marbling is a key quality indicator for Japanese beef, especially 和牛. The word comes from 霜 (frost) + 降り (falling). In the textile sense, it refers to a heathered or speckled pattern. Common collocations include 霜降り肉 (marbled meat) and 霜降り和牛 (marbled wagyu).