In today’s lesson we’ll cover what I feel is one of the most beautiful words in the entire French langauge: la neige, meaning “snow”. We’ll look at some applicable phrases and vocablary. Personally, I have always loved snow and included a recent picture of myself in la neige at the bottom of the post. Keep reading!
la neige
snow
La neige – snow in French
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Word origin
According to Wiktionary.org, the modern French word neige comes from nĭx in Latin. The modern French verb neiger (to snow) comes from nĭvīcare in Latin.
Pronunciation
The pronunciation of neige is: [nɛʒ].
Example sentences
As mentioned the verb neiger means “to snow”. In French, weather expressions often use the impersonal “il” form. Hence, il neige means “it’s snowing”. The pronoun on can me “we” in French.
Il neige beaucoup et on va faire du ski demain !
It’s snowing a lot and we’re going to go skiing tomorrow!
This next example sentence uses the imperfect tense (l’imparfait). The French use this tense to express actions which “used to” occur.
Quand j’étais un enfant j’adorais jouer dans la neige.
When I was a child I used to love playing in the snow.
The example sentence uses the term bonhomme de neige, which means snowman. Bonhomme can translate little to guy or little man.
Les enfants font un bonhomme de neige dans le jardin.
The kids are making a snowman in the yard.
This next sentence uses the word chaque, which translates to “each” or “every”. Le flocon means flake. Hence, oatmeal in French is les flocons d’avoine.
Chaque flocon de neige est unique.
Each snowflake is unique.
This final example sentence uses the masculine noun l’enneigement which translates to snow cover or snow depth.
Le niveau d’enneigement en Europe est un vrai problème en ce moment.
The level of snow cover in Europe is a real problem now.
Conclusion
Et voilà ! Now you know how to use the word neige (snow) in French! Now check our lesson covering the word frais, which can translate to “cool” and “fresh” in French.
