1.
light snowfall; fine snow; gently falling snow
Delicate, fine snow falling gently. A poetic and literary word evoking a quiet, beautiful winter scene.
細雪が舞っている。
Fine snow is dancing in the air.
窓の外には細雪が静かに降っていた。
Outside the window, fine snow was falling quietly.
夕暮れの街に細雪が降り始め、景色が一変した。
Fine snow began to fall on the town at dusk, transforming the scenery.
A literary and poetic word for delicate, gently falling snow. Composed of 細 (fine, delicate) + 雪 (snow). Evokes a quiet, elegant winter atmosphere and is associated with refined, literary Japanese.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 細雪が舞う: fine snow dances in the air
- 細雪が降る: fine snow falls
- 細雪の中: amid the gently falling snow
LITERARY NOTE:
The most famous use of this word is as the title of 谷崎潤一郎's novel 細雪 (The Makioka Sisters, 1943-1948), a masterwork of modern Japanese literature depicting the lives of four sisters in a wealthy Osaka family. The title evokes the beauty and transience of their fading world.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 粉雪: powder snow — light, dry snow; less literary than 細雪
- 新雪: fresh snow — emphasizes newness rather than delicacy
- 小雪: light snow — a more neutral term for light snowfall; also the name of a seasonal division in the traditional calendar