snow

/snəʊ̯/

//snəʊ̯// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"snow" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“snow” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,231. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,231
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes; also, the falling of such flakes; and the accumulation of them on the ground or on objects a...

Corpus desk

Index EN-snow · snow · English

snow · rank #2,231 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,231
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sharing

Nearest frequency peer: sharing (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “snow”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “snow” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

snow vs so
50% similar
snow vs SW
0% similar
snow vs son
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for snow
PropertyValue
Headwordsnow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/snəʊ̯/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,231
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “snow”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).snowlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “sharing” (#2,230), “storm” (#2,232), “sector” (#2,229). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “snow” is #2,231. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around snow (IPA /snəʊ̯/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,231 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 17 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for snow, with forms such as "nsow", "snnow", and "snoww". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "so", "SW", "son", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The noun is derived from Middle English snaw, snou, snow (“snow; accumulation of snow; snowfall; snowstorm; whiteness”), from Old English snāw (“snow”), from Proto-West Germanic *snaiw (“snow”), from Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz (“snow”), from Proto-Indo-Europea… The correct English form is snow, spelled S-N-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    The partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes; also, the falling of such flakes; and the accumulation of them on the ground or on objects as a white layer.
  2. 2
    The partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes; also, the falling of such flakes; and the accumulation of them on the ground or on objects as a white layer.
  3. 3
    The partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes; also, the falling of such flakes; and the accumulation of them on the ground or on objects as a white layer.
  4. 4
    The partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes; also, the falling of such flakes; and the accumulation of them on the ground or on objects as a white layer.
  5. 5
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
  6. 6
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
  7. 7
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
  8. 8
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
  9. 9
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
  10. 10
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
  11. 11
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
  12. 12
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
  13. 13
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
  14. 14
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
  15. 15
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
  16. 16
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.
  17. 17
    Something resembling snow (etymology 1 sense 1) in appearance or color.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how snow appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Snow is white, / And lieth in the dike. And every man lets it lye.
  2. Didſt thou but knovv the inly touch of Loue, / Thou vvouldſt as ſoone goe kindle fire vvith ſnovv / As ſeeke to quench the fire of Loue vvith vvords.

Etymology

The noun is derived from Middle English snaw, snou, snow (“snow; accumulation of snow; snowfall; snowstorm; whiteness”), from Old English snāw (“snow”), from Proto-West Germanic *snaiw (“snow”), from Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz (“snow”), from Proto-Indo-European *snóygʷʰos (“snow”), from *sneygʷʰ- (“to snow”). The verb is derived from Middle English snouen (“to snow; (figurative) to shower”), from snou, snow (noun) (see above) + -en (suffix forming the infinitive of verbs). Displaced Old English snīwan, whence English snew (obsolete). Verb etymology 1 sense 2.3.2 (“to convince or hoodwink (someone)”) probably refers to a person being blinded or confused by a snowstorm. The adjective comes from the phrase a snowball's chance in hell, also see snowball clause at Wikipedia. Cognates * Scots snaw (“snow”) * Yola sneew, sneow, snow, snowe (“snow”) * North Frisian Sne, sni, snii, snii'e, snä, snäi (“snow”) * Saterland Frisian Snee (“snow”) * West Frisian snie (“snow”) * Alemannic German schnee, schnei, schnia, schné, schnìj (“snow”) * Bavarian schnea, sghneab (“snow”) * Cimbrian snea, snèa (“snow”) * Dutch snee, sneeuw (“snow”) * German Schnee (“snow”) * Limburgish Schnië, snieë (“snow”) * Luxembourgish Schnéi (“snow”) * Mòcheno schnea (“snow”) * Vilamovian śnej, šnej, śnyi (“snow”) * Yiddish שניי (shney, “snow”) * Danish sne (“snow”) * Elfdalian sniųo (“snow”) * Faroese snjógvur (“snow”) * Icelandic snjár, snjór, snær (“snow”) * Norwegian Bokmål sne, snø (“snow”) * Norwegian Nynorsk snjo, snø (“snow”) * Swedish snö (“snow”) * Gothic 𐍃𐌽𐌰𐌹𐍅𐍃 (snaiws, “snow”) * Irish sneachta (“snow”) * Manx sniaghtey (“snow”) * Scottish Gaelic sneachd, sneachda (“snow”) * Welsh nyf (“snow”) * Latin nix (“snow”) * Ancient Greek νίψ (níps, “snow”) * Latvian snìegs (“snow”) * Lithuanian sniẽgas (“snow”) * Belarusian, Russian, and Macedonian снег (sneg, “snow”) * Bulgarian сняг (snjag, “snow”) * Czech sníh (“snow”) * Polish śnieg, śmiég (“snow”) * Serbo-Croatian сне̑г, сније̑г, snȇg, snig, snijȇg (“snow”) * Slovak sneh (“snow”) * Slovene sneg (“snow”) * Ukrainian сніг (snih, “snow”) * Shughni жиниҷ (žiniǰ, “snow”) * Avestan 𐬯𐬥𐬀𐬉𐬲𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 (snaēžaⁱti, “to snow”) * Sanskrit स्नेह (snéha, “grease, oil”)

This word in other languages

nieve(Español)neige(Français)Schnee(Deutsch)neve(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nsow
  • snnow
  • snoww
  • snwo
  • sonw
  • ssnow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of snow - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

nsow2snnow1snoww1snwo2sonw2ssnow1
Edit distance from "snow"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "snow"?
"snow" is spelled S-N-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /snəʊ̯/.
What does "snow" mean?
As a noun, "snow" means: The partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in flakes; also, the falling of such flakes; and the accumulation of them on the ground or on objects a...
What words are commonly confused with "snow"?
"snow" is commonly confused with "so", "SW", "son". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "snow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "snow" is /snəʊ̯/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "snow"?
The noun is derived from Middle English snaw, snou, snow (“snow; accumulation of snow; snowfall; snowstorm; whiteness”), from Old English snāw (“snow”), from Proto-West Germanic *snaiw (“snow”), from Proto-Germanic *snaiwaz (“snow”), from Proto-In... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "snow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

weak#2,237pack#2,224milk#2,223Asia#2,243

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

chain6 variantsequal6 variantsguns6 variantsKorea6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list