どうして雨じゃなくて雪になるの？ どうして白くてふわふわ？ 一つ一つ形がちがうってほんとう？
左にしつもん、右にこども向けせつめいで、冬だけのプレゼント「雪のふしぎ」をやさしく見てみよう。
Why does it become snow instead of rain? Why is snow white and fluffy?
Is it true that each snowflake has a different shape?
Questions on the left, easy answers on the right – let’s gently explore the winter present called “snow.”
❄️白いふしぎWhite mystery🌨雲の中Inside clouds🧤さわった感覚How it feels🔍雪の観察Snow observation
1QUESTION
どうして雨じゃなくて「雪」になるの？Why does it become snow, not rain?
同じ水なのに、冬は白くふってくるのはどうして？It’s the same water, so why does it fall as white snow in winter?
そのままとけないで落ちてくると、私たちはそれを雪とよんでいるんだ。
Snow and rain both start as the same water.
But when the air in the sky and down to the ground is very cold,
the water drops freeze into tiny bits of ice and powdery snow.
When they do not melt on the way down and reach us as ice, we call that snow.
🌡️「きょうは雪かな？雨かな？」と、天気予報の気温もいっしょにチェックしてみよう。When you ask, “Will it be snow or rain today?”, check the temperature in the weather forecast too.
2QUESTION
雪はどこでつくられるの？Where is snow made?
雲の中で、何が起きているのかな？What is happening inside the clouds?
大きくなりすぎて雲の中にいられなくなったら、
下に向かって落ちてきて、雪としてふってくるんだよ。
Snow is made high up in very cold clouds.
Water vapor (invisible water gas) inside the cloud freezes into tiny ice pieces,
and they slowly grow bigger to become snow bits.
When they get too big and heavy to stay in the cloud,
they fall down toward the ground as snow.
☁️冬の「黒い雪雲」と、高い山の上の「真っ白な雪」をつなげてイメージしてみよう。Try to imagine a dark snow cloud in the sky and the white snow on top of tall mountains as part of the same story.
3QUESTION
雪はどうして白いの？ 水は透明なのに。Why is snow white, even though water is clear?
氷もかなり透明なのに、雪だけ白く見えるふしぎ。Ice is also quite clear, so why does only snow look white?
ふわふわに積もると、氷と空気がまざったじゅうたんみたいになって、
余計に真っ白に見えるんだよ。
Snow is made of many tiny pieces of ice stuck together.
Light hits all the little ice surfaces and bounces many times in all directions.
All this mixed light makes the snow look white as a whole.
When snow piles up softly, the ice and air become like a mixed white blanket,
so it looks even brighter and whiter.
🧊氷だけを見たときと、かき氷を山もりにしたときの「見え方のちがい」をくらべてみよう。Compare a clear ice cube with a big pile of shaved ice. How do they look different?
4QUESTION
雪のけっしょうは、どうして「手が6本」の形が多いの？Why do snow crystals often have six “arms”?
星みたいな形、きれいにそろっているのはなぜ？They look like stars with six arms. Why are they so neat?
その上に、まわりから水じょう気が少しずつくっついて育っていくから、
雪のけっしょうは「6本の手」を持った星のような形になりやすいんだよ。
The tiny parts of water, called molecules, like to join in a shape
close to a hexagon (a six-sided shape) when they get very cold.
More water vapor then sticks to this shape and grows outward,
so snow crystals often become like little stars with six arms.
✏️紙に六角形を描いて、そこからギザギザの手を6本のばして「自分だけの雪マーク」をデザインしてみよう。Draw a hexagon on paper and add six jagged arms to design your own snow symbol.
5QUESTION
「同じ雪のけっしょうは二つとない」ってほんとう？Is it true there are no two identical snowflakes?
世界じゅうで、ぜんぶちがうってこと？Does that mean all snowflakes in the world are different?
世界じゅうで考えると、まったく同じ形が偶然そろう可能性は ほとんどゼロ。
だから「同じ雪のけっしょうは二つとない」と言われているんだよ。
While a snow crystal is forming, things like temperature, humidity,
and wind keep changing, even just a little.
That makes each crystal grow in a slightly different way.
If we think about all the snow in the whole world,
the chance that two crystals become exactly the same is almost zero.
That’s why people say “no two snowflakes are alike.”
🔍黒い紙や手袋の上に雪をそっとのせて、虫めがねで形を見てみよう。どれも少しずつちがうはず。Put snow gently on black paper or a dark glove and look with a magnifying glass. You’ll see each flake is a bit different.
6QUESTION
どうして雪の日は、音が小さく聞こえるの？Why do sounds seem quieter on snowy days?
いつもの町が、しん…と静かになるのはなぜ？Why does the town feel so still and quiet when it snows?
だから、車や人の足音もふわっと小さくなって、
雪の日は町全体が静かな感じになることが多いんだよ。
Snow piled on the ground and roofs is like a soft white blanket.
When sounds hit the snow, they go inside and are absorbed easily.
So car noises and footsteps become softer and quieter,
and the whole town often feels very calm and silent on snowy days.
👂雪の日と晴れの日で、同じ時間に外の音を聞きくらべてみよう。「音の色」がちがって聞こえるかも。At the same time of day, compare outside sounds on a snowy day and a sunny day. The “color” of the sound might feel different.
7QUESTION
雪はどうして、ふわふわだったり、ガリガリだったりするの？Why is some snow fluffy and other snow hard and crunchy?
同じ「積もった雪」でも、さわり心地がちがうね。Even though it’s all snow on the ground, it feels very different to touch.
いったんとけかけてからまたこおった雪は、カチカチ・ガリガリになりやすい。
昼にとけて夜にこおる、ということを何回くり返したかでも変わるんだ。
Fluffy snow has a lot of air inside and has often just fallen.
When you touch it, it feels soft and light.
Snow that has melted a bit and then frozen again
becomes hard and crunchy like ice.
How many times it melts in the day and freezes at night changes how it feels.
🧤ふわふわ雪・べちゃべちゃ雪・ガリガリ雪… さわった感じを一言メモにして、自分の「雪図鑑」を作ってみよう。Try writing short notes like “fluffy,” “wet,” or “hard” about different kinds of snow and make your own snow notebook.
8QUESTION
雪と「みぞれ」や「あられ」は、何がちがうの？What is the difference between snow, sleet, and hail?
見た目も音も、すこしずつちがう氷の雨たち。They all fall from the sky, but look and sound a bit different.
どれも空の冷たさのちがいで生まれる「いろいろな顔の氷の雨」なんだ。
Snow is like thin ice plates or branches gently falling. Sleet is half-melted snow mixed with rain, so it feels very wet and cold. Hail is made of small hard ice balls that make a loud tapping sound when they hit the ground.
They are all different faces of frozen rain, made by how cold the air is.
🎧みぞれの日とあられの日があったら、かさや窓に当たる音を聞きくらべてみよう。If you have a sleet day and a hail day, listen carefully to the sounds on your umbrella or window and compare them.
9QUESTION
ほかに、雪についてどんな「なぜ？」があるかな？What other “whys” about snow can you think of?
雪の日は、からだも頭もフル回転で楽しめる日。A snowy day is a day to move your body and your mind.
IDEAS
たとえば、こんな「なぜ？」もあるよ：
どうして同じ町でも、山のほうが雪が多くて、海の近くは少ないことが多いの？
どうして車の上の雪と、地面の雪でとける早さがちがうの？
どうしてスキー場では、雪が長いあいだ残りやすいの？
どうして雪が積もると、夜でもすこし明るく見えるの？
For example, you might ask:
Why do mountains in the same town often get more snow than places near the sea?
Why does snow on top of a car melt at a different speed than snow on the ground?
Why does snow stay longer at ski areas?
Why does the world look a little brighter at night when snow is on the ground?
📝雪の日に感じた「なぜ？」をノートにメモして、あとで図鑑や先生・家族と一緒に調べてみよう。Write down your “why about snow” questions in a notebook, and later check them with books, teachers, or family.