Started building a list of ski terms at about the same as researching the military ski thread. Why? Because the only way to find some info was to do native language searches… and not all terms were translated correctly by Google Translate. So had to go looking for the right terms.
Built a short list… some terms may be correct, others not. No promises of accuracy… Included the transliterations because they give a sense of meaning, as idiomatic expressions often do so often do.
Citations are provided where native language speakers have reviewed or actively contributed. The contributions are highly valued because they come from active skiers living in the countries from which the languages are used on a daily basis. Can’t get much better than that…
Anyhow, posting it for additional comments from our French Canadian, European, and maybe even Asian language speaking friends. Pile on in your comments below. We can turn this into a Rosetta Stone or sorts and maybe learn something about the sport as seen through other skiers’ eyes.
Finnish
(Contributions by @Theme)
Fi. Hiihto = skiing (general). Can also mean just a lap of skiing, a ski day tour etc. Usually refers only to XC
Fi. murtomaahiihto = broken country skiing; and
Fi. maastohiihto = terrain skiing. These are used as synonyms. Generally refers to all skiing on groomed tracks but technically includes off-track as well depending on snow conditions. Maastohiihto is the official word they use in racing. Luisteluhiihto means skate skiing, perinteinen tyyli means traditional style (diagonal)
Fi. Metsähiihto = forest skiing. Also usually includes skiing on boggy lands, any deep snow skiing. But there is its own word for that: Umpihankihiihto (we have Umpihankihiihto world championships in February each year). Also another word that also can include skiing up the fjell (or tunturi), erähiihto = erä is a short from erämaa, wilderness in this case.
Fi. Tunturihiihto = skiing on the fjell, usually with the fjellski/tunturisukset/BCX skis.
Fi. Liukulumikengät. Sliding snowshoes. Liukulumikenkäily (the sport). Connected to skiing on Altai style skis.
Fi. Hiihtäminen = skiing (generally understood to be XC)
Fi. laskettelu = calculated skiing (technical skiing, alpine). Can also refer to snowboarding but that usually is referred to as lumilautailu, literally snowboarding. Laskettelu generally refers only to alpine skiing.
Fi. Vapaalasku = (free slide) means backcountry downhill skiing
French
(Contributions by @Nitram Tocrut)
Fr. ski de fond = lowland skiing, a général term for XC skiing that can be practiced in any kind of terrain but most people ski in tracks.
Fr. Ski hors-piste = It can refer to BC XC skiing or alpine skiing in the BC. But for most people think alpine dh skiing in the BC when they see or hear it.
Fr. Ski de fond hors-piste = That is specific to BC XC skiing and it is mostly used by those who actually do BC XC skiing.
Fr. Ski nordique = Same meaning as ski de fond hors-piste but not commonly used in Québec. Although this is the term used by Canadian National parks for their network of marked but untracked trails, some of which are hut to hut
Fr. Randonnée nordique = Used in France and if you visit “Aventure nordique” website they have a section named “Randonnée nordique” for all their XC BC gear.
Fr. Ski raquette = Generally refer to skiing with the Hoks… but we can commonly hear and see “Ski hok” and this has a pretty obvious meaning
Fr. Randonnée alpine = Alpine touring. As Québec doesn’t have a lot of “ Big mountains” this is frequently practiced in ski resorts but there is more and more areas developed especially for AT.
Ger. alpine Skirennen = alpine skiing (race)
Ger. Langlaufen = long run (classic XC)
Ger. Tourenskigehen = ski touring
No. Tur og markaski - touring and cross country skiing
No. Fjellski - mountain ski
No. Toppturski - top (summit) ski
No. å gå på ski = walk on skis
No. Skikjoring = ski driving, using animals (traditionally reindeer)
Swe. skidlöpning = ski running (classic XC)
Swe. Skidakning = skiing coverage (general skiing)
Swe. Toppskidakning = summit skiing
