Is it cold?

Question

I've tried a couple of alternative ways to say this other than the stock "Il fait froid". I know they are not listed as alternatives, but are mine correct.
1. Il fait mal, can you say this as "Il fait bon" means it's warm/hot?
2 In my experience most native speakers I have met would usually say "Il ne fait pas chaud", or some highly contracted form.

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Paul !
1. Il fait mal doesn't exist at all in this context The only meaning of the phrase on its own would be He hurts.
See https://french.kwiziq.com/revision/grammar/faire-mal-a-vs-faire-du-mal-a-to-hurt-someone
or Il fait mal [quelque chose] = He's doing [something] wrong.
2. Il ne fait pas chaud has indeed a similar meaning to il fait froid, i.e. It's not warm.Though the meaning is close, these are two different sentences, in French as in English.
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !

Answer

Hi Paul - you can't say "Il fait mal" for weather, as Aurélie has explained, but you can say "Il fait mauvais", in case that wasn't clear (it is actually one of the examples listed in the lesson, but at the end so you may have missed it.