Think you know some French beyond Bonjour, Merci, and Au revoir? 😄
Let’s put your French vocabulary to the test with a fun little challenge!
French has many expressions that can sound surprising when translated word for word. Sometimes, a French sentence looks simple, but its real meaning is completely different from what you might expect.
Today’s quiz is a perfect example.
You’re going to complete a common French expression used to describe awful weather. There are four possible answers, but only one is correct.
🧩 French Quiz: Complete the Expression
Complete this French idiom:
“Il fait un temps de ____.”
🤔 What’s your answer?
Take a moment and choose A, B, C, or D before checking the answer.
Do you think the French expression uses vache, chien, chat, or oiseau?
🔎 Answer: B. Chien! 🐕
Il fait un temps de chien.
If you chose B — chien, well done! 🎉
The French expression “Il fait un temps de chien” is used to describe very bad, unpleasant, miserable, or awful weather.
- The weather is awful.
- The weather is terrible.
- It’s horrible weather.
🗣️ Pronunciation
A simple pronunciation guide for English speakers is:
Il fait un temps de chien
eel feh uhn tahn duh shyen
il feh uh̃ tah̃ duh shyen
Il fait → un temps → de chien
Then say the complete expression naturally.
🐕 What Does “Il fait un temps de chien” Mean?
If you translate the expression literally, it sounds quite funny.
Il fait un temps de chien literally refers to something like “dog weather.”
But that’s not what a French speaker means.
The expression is an idiom, so its meaning needs to be understood as a complete phrase.
Il fait un temps de chien = The weather is awful.
Imagine waking up and seeing:
💨 Strong wind
☁️ Dark clouds
🥶 Freezing temperatures
🌂 Everyone carrying umbrellas
That’s the kind of situation where you could say:
Il fait un temps de chien !
It’s a much more colorful way of saying that the weather is really unpleasant.
🇫🇷 Why Does French Have Expressions Like This?
One of the fun parts of learning French is discovering expressions that don’t always make sense when translated literally.
English has plenty of idioms too.
For example:
“It’s raining cats and dogs.”
But English speakers understand that the expression means it’s raining heavily.
French works in the same way.
That’s why you shouldn’t always translate a French expression word by word.
Instead, try to learn the whole expression and its meaning together.
So rather than memorizing:
chien = dog
only, you can also remember:
Il fait un temps de chien = The weather is awful.
That will make the expression much easier to recognize later.
🧠 Let’s Understand Each Part
Breaking the sentence down can help beginners understand how it works.
Il
Here, il means “it.”
In many French weather expressions, il is used as an impersonal subject.
For example:
Il pleut.
→ It’s raining.
Il neige.
→ It’s snowing.
fait
Fait comes from the French verb faire, which can mean “to do” or “to make.”
However, you shouldn’t translate it literally in weather expressions.
French commonly uses:
Il fait + adjective
For example:
Il fait chaud.
→ It’s hot.
Il fait froid.
→ It’s cold.
Il fait beau.
→ The weather is nice.
Il fait mauvais.
→ The weather is bad.
So learning il fait as a useful weather structure is much more helpful than translating every word separately.
un temps
Un temps can have different meanings depending on context.
It can refer to time, but in weather-related expressions it can refer to weather.
For example:
Quel temps fait-il ?
means:
What’s the weather like?
de chien
Chien means dog. 🐕
But in the complete expression, de chien forms part of the idiom.
So:
Il fait un temps de chien.
should be remembered as one complete French expression.
🗣️ Pronunciation Practice
If you’re a beginner, don’t just read the expression once.
Say it several times.
Slow practice:
Il fait
eel feh
un temps
uhn tahn
de chien
duh shyen
Now put them together:
Il fait un temps de chien.
Il fait un temps de chien.
il feh uh̃ tah̃ duh shyen
Try repeating it three times:
1️⃣ Slowly
2️⃣ At normal speed
3️⃣ Without looking at the pronunciation
This type of repetition can help you move the phrase from passive vocabulary into active speaking.
🌦️ 7 Useful French Weather Expressions
Now that you’ve learned today’s idiom, let’s build your weather vocabulary a little further.
1. ☀️ Il fait beau.
Meaning: The weather is nice.
Pronunciation: eel feh boh
Il fait beau.
il feh boh
Example:
Aujourd’hui, il fait beau.
→ The weather is nice today.
2. 🌧️ Il fait mauvais.
Meaning: The weather is bad.
Pronunciation: eel feh moh-veh
Il fait mauvais.
il feh moh-veh
Example:
Il fait mauvais dehors.
→ The weather is bad outside.
3. 🔥 Il fait chaud.
Meaning: It’s hot.
Pronunciation: eel feh shoh
Il fait chaud.
il feh shoh
Example:
En été, il fait chaud.
→ In summer, it’s hot.
4. 🥶 Il fait froid.
Meaning: It’s cold.
Pronunciation: eel feh frwah
Il fait froid.
il feh frwah
Example:
En hiver, il fait froid.
→ In winter, it’s cold.
5. 🌧️ Il pleut.
Meaning: It’s raining.
Pronunciation: eel pluh
Il pleut.
il pluh
Example:
Il pleut aujourd’hui.
→ It’s raining today.
6. ❄️ Il neige.
Meaning: It’s snowing.
Pronunciation: eel nezh
Il neige.
il nezh
Example:
Il neige ce matin.
→ It’s snowing this morning.
7. 🐕 Il fait un temps de chien.
Meaning: The weather is awful.
Pronunciation: eel feh uhn tahn duh shyen
Il fait un temps de chien.
il feh uh̃ tah̃ duh shyen
This is today’s special expression—and probably the most memorable one! 😄
📊 Quick French Weather Cheat Sheet
| French Expression | English Meaning |
|---|---|
| Il fait beau. | The weather is nice. |
| Il fait mauvais. | The weather is bad. |
| Il fait chaud. | It’s hot. |
| Il fait froid. | It’s cold. |
| Il pleut. | It’s raining. |
| Il neige. | It’s snowing. |
| Il fait un temps de chien. | The weather is awful. |
If you’re just starting French, try learning these expressions as complete phrases rather than isolated vocabulary.
🤔 “Il fait mauvais” vs “Il fait un temps de chien”
These two expressions are related, but they don’t have exactly the same feeling.
Il fait mauvais.
Simply means:
The weather is bad.
It’s a straightforward statement.
Il fait un temps de chien.
Means:
The weather is awful / terrible.
It’s more expressive and conversational.
For example, if it’s slightly cloudy, you might simply say:
Il fait mauvais.
But if there’s heavy rain, strong wind, and miserable weather, you could say:
Il fait un temps de chien !
That’s one reason idioms are so useful: they can make your French sound more expressive.
⚠️ Don’t Translate French Idioms Word for Word
This is one of the most important lessons from today’s quiz.
When you encounter an unfamiliar French expression, ask yourself:
“Is this supposed to be translated literally?”
Sometimes the answer is no.
For example:
Il fait un temps de chien.
Don’t memorize it as:
❌ “It makes a time of dog.”
Instead, remember:
✅ “The weather is awful.”
And associate it with:
🐕 chien → awful weather
This little mental connection can make the phrase easier to remember.
🎯 Mini French Practice Quiz
Let’s see whether you remember today’s lesson.
Question 1
Which French expression means “It’s cold”?
A. Il fait chaud.
B. Il fait beau.
C. Il fait froid.
D. Il pleut.
Answer: C. Il fait froid. 🥶
Question 2
Which expression means “It’s raining”?
A. Il neige.
B. Il pleut.
C. Il fait beau.
D. Il fait chaud.
Answer: B. Il pleut. 🌧️
Question 3
Complete the idiom:
Il fait un temps de _____.
A. chat
B. chien
C. vache
D. oiseau
✅ Answer: B. chien! 🐕
💡 Remember This French Pattern: “Il fait”
Today’s quiz also teaches you an important French structure.
When talking about certain types of weather, French frequently uses:
Il fait + adjective
For example:
Il fait chaud. → It’s hot.
Il fait froid. → It’s cold.
Il fait beau. → The weather is nice.
Il fait mauvais. → The weather is bad.
And sometimes you will encounter a longer expression:
Il fait un temps de chien. → The weather is awful.
Once you become familiar with this pattern, many French weather sentences become easier to understand.
📚 Continue Your French Learning
Enjoyed this French quiz?
Don’t stop with one expression! Building a strong beginner foundation becomes much easier when you learn grammar and vocabulary step by step.
🇫🇷 Learn Un, Une and Des
Are you confused about French indefinite articles?
Learn when to use un, une, and des with simple explanations and examples:
👉 French Indefinite Articles: How to Use Un, Une and Des Easily
🇫🇷 Être vs Avoir
Still wondering when to use être and when to use avoir?
These two verbs are essential for French beginners.
👉 Être vs Avoir in French: Complete Beginner Guide
🏆 Final Challenge
Before leaving this page, try saying today’s expression without looking at the answer.
Complete the sentence:
Il fait un temps de ______.
Think about it…
🐄 Vache?
🐕 Chien?
🐈 Chat?
🐦 Oiseau?
🐕 CHIEN!
Il fait un temps de chien.
Meaning: The weather is awful.
And now you know a fun French idiom that you can actually recognize and use in conversation. 🇫🇷
The next time you look outside and see heavy rain, strong winds, and miserable weather, don’t just think:
“The weather is bad.”
Think like a French learner:
Il fait un temps de chien ! 🐕🌧️
🇫🇷 Keep Learning with LingoMantra
Learning French doesn’t have to mean memorizing hundreds of grammar rules at once.
Start with useful expressions, everyday vocabulary, simple grammar, and small challenges like this one.
The more you see, hear, repeat, and use French, the easier it becomes to remember.
Learn → Understand → Listen → Repeat → Practice → Use
Keep exploring French with LingoMantra and turn every small lesson into a step toward speaking better French. 🇫🇷✨
Bonne chance et à bientôt! 👋🇫🇷
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