Fare un freddo cane

Fare un freddo cane
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Informal Italian Expression

Meaning bitterly cold
Literally a dog’s cold
Register normal
Pronunciation Italian sound files [fah ray oon fray do kah nay]
IPA   [‘fa re un ‘fre do ‘ka ne]

Usage notes: The Italian expression fare un freddo cane refers to extremely cold weather. Though cane literally means "dog," here it’s used as an intensifier modifying freddo to mean "very cold, extremely cold."

Per esempio…

Fa un freddo cane!   It’s really cold out!
Farà un freddo cane questa settimana.   It’s going to be bitterly cold this week.

Cane is used in this way with a few other nouns:

  • una fame cano – extreme hunger
  • un male cane – extreme pain
  • una paura cane – extreme fear

 Related lessons

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Fa un freddo cane

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