What is the difference between 積もる 【つもる】 and 溜まる 【たまる】?


What is the difference between 積もる 【つもる】 and 溜まる 【たまる】? I've found the verbs
used like this:

  1. 洗濯｛せんたく｝が溜まる｛たまる｝。

  2. 雪｛ゆき｝が深く｛ふかく｝積もる｛つもる｝。

In this context, are these verbs interchangeable? Can I say 3 and 4?

  3. 洗濯｛せんたく｝が積もる｛つもる｝。

  4. 雪｛ゆき｝が深く｛ふかく｝溜まる｛たまる｝。

N.B. I will consider the usage of 積もる 【つもる】 and 溜まる 【たまる】 in sentences 1 and 2
correct (since I found it in textbooks while studying for N3), but if you have
any doubts please let me know.

Thank you.




> 洗濯物が溜まる／洗濯物が積もる

洗濯(物)が溜まる is a very common way to say "to have a lot of clothes to wash". It
implies you have to wash that laundry soon.

If you do want to emphasize the _physical_ aspect of the pile of the laundry,
洗濯物が積もる may be technically OK. You might say 「洗濯物が山のように積もっていて(or
山のように積んであって)、ドアが開けられない!」 when the laundry is physically blocking the door :)

> 雪が積もる／雪が溜まる

雪が積もる is more common, and it means a certain area is _uniformly_ covered by
snow after a snowfall. If you see a layer of snow on a car after a snowy day,
you can say "車の上に雪が積もっている". You can modify this sentence with adverbs like 深く,
たくさん, いっぱい, 少し, etc.

雪が溜まる (or noun 雪【ゆき】溜【だ】まり) refers to the localized, irregular accumulation of
snow, due to wind or other environmental/topographical reasons. If you see
remaining snow under the car, several days after the snowfall, then you can
say "(まだ)車の下に雪が溜まっている". If there's a lot of such snow, you can say
たくさん／大量に／いっぱい溜まっている, but not 深く溜まっている.

The difference between "埃【ほこり】が積もる" and "埃が溜まる" is the same (埃 = dust). 積もった埃
is seen on a flat floor, and 溜まった埃, behind a bookshelf or in my PC.




> 洗濯物が溜まる／洗濯物が積もる

洗濯(物)が溜まる is a very common way to say "to have a lot of clothes to wash". It
implies you have to wash that laundry soon.

If you do want to emphasize the _physical_ aspect of the pile of the laundry,
洗濯物が積もる may be technically OK. You might say 「洗濯物が山のように積もっていて(or
山のように積んであって)、ドアが開けられない!」 when the laundry is physically blocking the door :)

> 雪が積もる／雪が溜まる

雪が積もる is more common, and it means a certain area is _uniformly_ covered by
snow after a snowfall. If you see a layer of snow on a car after a snowy day,
you can say "車の上に雪が積もっている". You can modify this sentence with adverbs like 深く,
たくさん, いっぱい, 少し, etc.

雪が溜まる (or noun 雪【ゆき】溜【だ】まり) refers to the localized, irregular accumulation of
snow, due to wind or other environmental/topographical reasons. If you see
remaining snow under the car, several days after the snowfall, then you can
say "(まだ)車の下に雪が溜まっている". If there's a lot of such snow, you can say
たくさん／大量に／いっぱい溜まっている, but not 深く溜まっている.

The difference between "埃【ほこり】が積もる" and "埃が溜まる" is the same (埃 = dust). 積もった埃
is seen on a flat floor, and 溜まった埃, behind a bookshelf or in my PC.

