The word skiing (remember to say /skí-ing/) covers two different activities: cross-country skiing, which is the equivalent of cross-country running on skis, and downhill skiing, otherwise known as Nordic and Alpine skiing respectively. The word "downhill" is also the name of a specific type of Alpine skiing race (the women's downhill at Cortina D'Ampezzo), together with super-giant slalom /súper-dží/, giant slalom /dží-es/ and slalom events.

Cross-country skiing combined with rifle-shooting is called biathlon. Whichever kind of skiing you prefer, you need a pair of skis with bindings /bájndingz/ (viazania) to fit your boots, and (usually) a pair of sticks to hold in your hands. If you do ski-mountaineering, you might have some strips of seal-skin (tulenia koža, páska) to fit on your skis to help you climb the slopes. Cross-country skiers use wax (vosk) for this, and downhill skiers take a ride on a ski-lift or a chair-lift. Lazy so-and-so's.