滑雪 (huá xuě) literally means 'to slide on snow' — the character 滑 (huá) means 'to slip', 'to glide', or 'to slide', and 雪 (xuě) means 'snow'. Together, they form a compound noun and verb meaning 'skiing', the winter sport of gliding over snow on skis. It’s commonly used to describe both the activity itself and the general concept of skiing as a recreation or sport.

This word appears in contexts like travel planning, sports reporting, weather discussions, and leisure conversations — especially in northern China or mountainous regions with ski resorts. While it can function as a verb ('I ski'), it’s often used as a noun ('go skiing') and frequently appears with verbs like 去 (qù, 'to go') or 爱 (ài, 'to love'). Unlike some compound verbs, 滑雪 does not require aspect particles like 了 or 过 unless indicating completed action in a specific sentence.