The claim that Inuit people have hundreds of words for snow is an exaggeration, but it has a grain of truth. Inuit languages like Yupik use a polysynthetic structure where multiple concepts are combined into one long word, which can make it appear they have vastly more 'words.' Linguists estimate Yupik has around 40-50 distinct root words related to snow — still more than most languages, reflecting its cultural importance.