雪ゆきうさぎ

ゆ

き

う

さ

ぎ

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

noun

mountain hare; blue hare; white hare; alpine hare

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the animal Lepus timidus, a hare species found in mountainous and snowy regions. In Japanese contexts, often associated with Hokkaido.

北ほっ海かい道どうでは、冬ふゆになるとユキウサギの足あし跡あとをよく見みかけます。
In Hokkaido, you often see mountain hare tracks in winter.

2

noun

snow rabbit; rabbit made of snow

A traditional winter craft: a small rabbit shape made of snow, often with leaves for ears and red berries for eyes. Associated with children's play and seasonal imagery.

子こどもが庭にわで雪ゆきうさぎを作つくった。
The child made a snow rabbit in the garden.
雪ゆきうさぎの耳みみには南なん天てんの葉はを使つかいます。
We use nandina leaves for the snow rabbit's ears.

Written forms

雪ゆきうさぎUsage7%
Common mixed kanji-kana spelling. Preferred for clarity and naturalness.
雪ゆきウサギUsage60%
search-only kanji form
Search-only form with katakana for ウサギ. Not a standard spelling.
雪ゆき兎うさぎUsage33%
Kanji spelling using 兎 (rabbit). Rarely used; the word is usually written in kana.
ユキウサギ
kana-only spelling
Full katakana spelling, sometimes used in field guides or for emphasis.

Kanji

雪snow
兎rabbit, hare

Similar words

野の兎うさぎ
野兎 (のうさぎ) refers to a wild rabbit or hare in general, not specifically the mountain hare or the snow craft.
雪ゆきだるま
雪だるま is a snowman, a different snow sculpture. 雪うさぎ is specifically a rabbit shape.

Etymology

Compound of 雪 (ゆき, snow) and 兎/うさぎ (rabbit/hare). The animal sense is a direct calque or translation of the English 'snow hare' or scientific name. The snow craft sense is a native Japanese cultural term.