降雪 (jiàng xuě) — to snow (formal/书面); snowfall, amount of snow

Definition

降雪 is the formal/written 'to snow' or 'snowfall' — used in weather reports and news, not in everyday speech, where you'd just say 下雪.

to snow (formal/书面)snowfallamount of snow

降雪。
Jīn wǎn jiāng yǒu dà miàn jī jiàng xuě.
There will be widespread snowfall tonight.
降雪10。
Yù jì jiàng xuě liàng huì dá dào 10 lí mǐ.
The snowfall is expected to reach 10 centimeters.
降雪。
Zhè chǎng jiàng xuě chí xù le zhěng zhěng liǎng tiān.
This snowfall lasted a full two days.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

The characters 降, meaning fall, and 雪, meaning snow, combine to express snow falling.

Characters in this word

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

阝夅降

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阝Written in full as阜fùhill, wall

Sound part声符shēngfú

夅

夅jiàng降xiáng

Same sound today

降 pairs 阝 (a hill or wall, written in full as 阜) with 夅, a sound part meaning 'to descend'; together they picture descending a hill.

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.