霏ひ々ひ

ひ

Meanings

taru-adjective, adverb taking the 'to' particle

incessantly falling; prolonged continuation

A literary, somewhat archaic expression describing rain, snow, or something else that continues without pause. Often used in classical or poetic descriptions. The word is a taru-adjective/adverb taking と, so it typically appears as 霏々として or 霏々たる.

雨あめが霏ひ々ひとして降ふり続つづく。
The rain falls incessantly.
霏ひ々ひたる雪ゆきに閉とざされた山やま道みち。
A mountain path shut in by unceasing snow.

Kanji

霏falling rain or snow

Related words

しとしと
しとしと describes gentle, steady rain, while 霏々 implies a heavier, more relentless downpour or continuation, and is much more literary.
絶たえ間まない
絶え間ない is the common modern word for 'incessant' or 'uninterrupted'. 霏々 is its rare, poetic equivalent.

Written forms

霏ひ々ひUsage67%
Literary kanji form; the character 霏 means falling rain or snow, and the repetition mark 々 indicates reduplication. Rare in modern writing.
霏ひ霏ひUsage33%
Alternate literary spelling without the repetition mark. Equally rare.

Etymology

A Sino-Japanese reading of the Classical Chinese reduplicated form 霏霏, describing rain or snow falling thickly and continuously and, by extension, something continuing without interruption.