Winter الشِّتاء has officially arrived! In this post, we’ll be looking at Arabic terms related to the winter season and the cold. ☃☕🌨❄🎅🥶

Though not as often as Europe and North America, it still snows in some Middle Eastern countries, such as Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Northern Iraq, and Palestine. When it does snow, you can expect schools to be closed as well as many stores to prevent traffic accidents. Some roads are not equipped to handle ice and snow.

In most places, the winter months are usually:

December ديسَمْبِر /كانون الأوَّل

January يَناير / كانون ثانٍ

February فِبراير / شُباط

Here are a number of basic Arabic terms related to the winter season:

❄cold: بارِد/ بَرْد

Note: (بارِد is used to describe something cold such as weather, a house, a cup of tea, etc. Whereas بَرد is used to describe the feeling of being cold.)

 I’m cold. أشعُر بِالبَرْد                           Cold weather   طَقْس بارِد/جَو بارِد

❄winter: الشِّتاء                                 Winter is my favorite season.   .فَصلي المُفَضَل هو الشِّتاء

❄snow: ثَلْج                                         It’s snowing.   .إنَّها تُثْلِج

❄snowman: رَجُل ثَّلْج                         Let’s make a snowman!  !هَيا نَعمل رَجُل ثَلْج

❄Christmas: عيد الميلاد                      Merry Christmas! !عيد ميلاد مجيد

❄Christmas tree: شجرة عيد الميلاد       

Let’s decorate the Christmas tree. !هيا نُزَيّن شَجرة عيد الميلاد

❄Santa clause: بابا نويل                     

Santa clause is giving gifts to the children. .بابا نويل يزوع الهدايا على الأطفال

❄hail: بَرَد                                      There is a hailstorm.  .إِنَّها تُمْطِر بَرَدًا

Note: (The difference between hail بَرَد and to feel cold بَرْد in Arabic is only a diacritic.)

❄ice: ثَلْج/ جَليد                                         

Would you like some ice in your coke?    هَل تُريد بَعض الثَلْج في الكولا؟

Low temperatures turn water into ice. .إنخِفاض دَرجة الحَرارَة يُحَوِل المَاء إلى جَليد

Note: (The “ice” one puts in a drink is also ثَلْج like “snow”. Whereas, “ice” as in “The lake turned to ice.” is جَليد.)

❄hot cocoa: الشوكلاتة السَّاخِنة         

I love drinking hot cocoa in the winter. .أُحِبُ شُرب الشوكلاتة السَّاخِنة في فَصْل الشِّتاء

Clothes to wear in the winter:🧤🧣🥾🧥

❄coat: مِعْطَف             I bought a heavy coat for winter.  .لَقد اشتريتُ مِعطفًا ثقيلًا لِفَصْل الشِّتاء

❄hat: قُبَّعة شِتوية        This hat is warm.  .هذه القبعة الشتوية دافئِة

❄gloves: قُفَّازات        Are these gloves waterproof?   هل هذه القُفَّازات مُضادّة لِلماء؟

❄scarf: وِشاح            I forgot my scarf in the car.  .لقد نَسيتُ وِشاحي في السَّيارة

❄winter boots: حِذاء شِّتوي       

These winter boots are comfortable.   .هذه الأحذية الشِّتوية مُريحة

Funny fact: Growing up in Amman, Jordan, it didn’t always snow enough every year where you could play in the snow. So, when it did, many children did not own waterproof gloves. Some had regular knit gloves and would tie a plastic bag to each wrist to keep the gloves from getting wet. Other children, (including myself) who didn’t own gloves at the time, wore socks on our hands then tied on the plastic bags. We all looked pretty funny, but we had some wonderful memories playing in the snow. ☃😄🧤❄

I hope you found this post useful and if you live in a place where it gets cold in the winter, stay warm! إبقوا دافِئاً! 🌨☃❄