/fa un ˈfreddo ˈkane/ lit. ‘it’s a dog cold’
Italian idiom, colloquial. It is bitterly cold.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Italian speaker.
How do people use Fa un freddo cane
?
Colloquial and very common, said about the weather or a cold room. Both “fa” and “c’è” work, in any tense: “faceva un freddo cane”, “c’era un freddo cane”, “oggi ha fatto un freddo cane”. “Cane” here works as an adjective that never changes.
Also said c’è un freddo cane
Fa un freddo cane
in real sentences
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Fuori fa un freddo cane.
It’s freezing outside.
Tatoeba, sentence by dnnywld, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
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C’è un freddo cane.
It’s bitterly cold.
Tatoeba, sentence by Guybrush88, translation by sundown, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Fa un freddo cane
come from?
Both Wiktionary editions record “cane” as an informal intensifier: English Wiktionary lists it as an invariable adjective meaning freezing or biting, Italian Wiktionary as a familiar booster with the example “oggi ha fatto un freddo cane”. Dogs have a hard time in Italian sayings (“vita da cani”, a dog’s life), which probably explains the choice, but no source dates the phrase.
Mistakes learners make with Fa un freddo cane
Saying “un freddo di cane” or “un freddo da cane”. It’s just “un freddo cane”, with no preposition. Don’t confuse it with “da cani”, which means badly done (“canta da cani”, he sings terribly).
Other Italian idioms like Fa un freddo cane
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