snow
HSK level
雪 is written with 11 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
雪 (xuě) is the noun 'snow' — frozen precipitation.
To talk about snow falling, Chinese uses the verb 下 (xià, 'to fall'): 下雪了 ('it's snowing' / 'it has started snowing'). This 下 + weather pattern also makes 下雨 ('to rain'). The character has 雨 (rain) on top, marking it as a weather word.
Common expressions: 雪花 (xuěhuā, 'snowflake'), 雪人 (xuě rén, 'snowman'), 大雪 (dà xuě, 'heavy snow'), 小雪 (xiǎo xuě, 'light snow' — also one of the 24 solar terms). Northern Chinese cities like Harbin (哈尔滨) celebrate winter with the 冰雪节 (Ice and Snow Festival). Note that 雪 also forms the figurative 雪上加霜 ('snow on top of frost' = adding insult to injury) and 雪中送炭 ('sending charcoal in the snow' = timely help).
雪 appears in 2 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
外面下雪了。
Wàimiàn xià xuě le.
It's snowing outside.
spoken
孩子们在雪地里玩。
Háizimen zài xuě dì lǐ wán.
The children are playing in the snow.
neutral
我们一起堆雪人吧！
Wǒmen yìqǐ duī xuě rén ba!
Let's build a snowman together!
spoken
北京冬天常常下雪。
Běijīng dōngtiān chángcháng xià xuě.
It often snows in Beijing in winter.
neutral
雨 is 'rain.' 雪 has 雨 on top (weather radical) but adds the bottom component for snow specifically. 下雨 (rain) vs 下雪 (snow).
学 means 'to study / learn.' Same initial sound (xué vs xuě, different tones) but completely different character and meaning. Don't confuse 学校 ('school') with anything snow-related.
血 means 'blood.' Pinyin xuè is very close to xuě. The characters and meanings are unrelated; don't write 血 when you mean 雪.
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