大雪纷飞 (dà xuě fēn fēi) — heavy snowfall; snowflakes falling thick and fast

Definition

Idiom for 'heavy snowfall, snowflakes falling thick and fast' — used as a vivid image, especially in descriptive or literary writing, not everyday chat.

idiom
heavy snowfallsnowflakes falling thick and fast

Examples

  • 大雪纷飞，。
    Chuāng wài dà xuě fēn fēi, zhěng gè shì jiè dōu biàn chéng le bái sè.
    Outside the window, snow was falling thick and fast, and the whole world turned white.
  • 大雪纷飞，。
    Suī rán dà xuě fēn fēi, dàn lù shang de xíng rén yī rán luò yì bù jué.
    Although the snow was falling heavily, the pedestrians on the road were still coming and going in an endless stream.
  • “大雪纷飞”。
    Shī rén yòng "dà xuě fēn fēi" lái xíng róng běi guó dōng tiān de zhuàng lì jǐng sè.
    The poet used 'heavy snowfall' to describe the magnificent winter scenery of the northern country.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
彗
彗huì雪xuě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

雪 pairs 雨, showing rain, with 彗, giving the sound.

Open 雪 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紛; 纷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
分
分fēn紛fēn
Same sound today

The form 紛 is built from 糸, a meaning part, and 分, a sound part.

Open 纷 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飛; 飞 is its simplified writing.

For 飞, the traditional form 飛 pictures a bird flying upwards.

Open 飞 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.