How to say “cold” in French
3 phrases · Tourist, Learner, and Local levels · with pronunciation
Il fait très froid.
🔊 Eel feh treh frwah
Literally: “It is very cold.”
💡 Simple
Il fait un froid glacial aujourd'hui, couvre-toi bien.
🔊 Eel feh uhn frwah glah-SYAL oh-zhoor-DWEE, koov-rwah BYAN
Literally: “It's glacial cold today, cover yourself well.”
💡 glacial = icy/glacial, natural intensifier
Il fait un froid de canard, je ne sens plus mes doigts !
🔊 Eel feh uhn frwah duh kah-NAR, zhuh nuh sahn ploo meh dwah
Literally: “It's duck's cold, I can't feel my fingers anymore!”
💡 froid de canard = classic French idiom; ne sens plus = can't feel anymore
About these French phrases
These French weather phrases cover three levels of fluency for expressing cold conditions. The Tourist phrase is what any beginner can use immediately. The Learner phrase sounds natural in everyday conversation. The Local phrase uses authentic idioms and expressions that native speakers actually use — the kind of phrase that makes locals smile when they hear a foreigner use it.
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