snowy

/ˈsnəʊi/

//ˈsnəʊi// adj

"snowy" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“snowy” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,913. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#15,913
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Marked by snow; characterized by snow.

Corpus desk

Index EN-snowy · snowy · English

snowy · rank #15,913 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #15,913
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH smear

Nearest frequency peer: smear (-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 “snowy”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “snowy” 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).

snowy vs soy
60% similar
snowy vs sow
60% similar
snowy vs Sony
40% similar

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

Key facts for snowy
PropertyValue
Headwordsnowy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈsnəʊi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#15,913
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “snowy”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).snowylands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “smear” (#15,912), “sleeper” (#15,911), “spectral” (#15,915). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “snowy” is #15,913. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around snowy (IPA /ˈsnəʊi/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #15,913 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for snowy, with forms such as "nsowy", "snnowy", and "snowwy". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "soy", "sow", "Sony", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English snowy, snawy, from Old English snāwiġ. By surface analysis, snow + -y. The correct English form is snowy, spelled S-N-O-W-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Marked by snow; characterized by snow.
  2. 2
    Covered with snow; snow-covered; besnowed.
  3. 3
    Snow-white in color, white as snow.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. snowy hillside
  2. So we continue climbing to the saddle of the Kleine Scheidegg, where ahead there comes into view the wide expanse of the Grindelwald valley, backed by the snowy crown of the Wetterhorn.

Etymology

From Middle English snowy, snawy, from Old English snāwiġ. By surface analysis, snow + -y.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • nsowy
  • snnowy
  • snowwy
  • snowyy
  • snoyw
  • snwoy
  • sonwy
  • ssnowy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of snowy - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

nsowy2snnowy1snowwy1snowyy1snoyw2snwoy2sonwy2ssnowy1
Edit distance from "snowy"

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 "snowy"?
"snowy" is spelled S-N-O-W-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsnəʊi/.
What does "snowy" mean?
As an adjective, "snowy" means: Marked by snow; characterized by snow.
What words are commonly confused with "snowy"?
"snowy" is commonly confused with "soy", "sow", "Sony". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "snowy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "snowy" is /ˈsnəʊi/. 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 "snowy"?
From Middle English snowy, snawy, from Old English snāwiġ. By surface analysis, snow + -y. 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 "snowy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list