The English We Speak: Go through a rough patch

Learning English Conversations

BBC

Language Learning, Education

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2026

⏱️ 3 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Life isn't always great, sometimes things can be difficult. Use 'go through a rough patch' when life gets difficult for a while. Learn this useful expression with Feifei and Phil.

As always, find a free transcript here: ✔️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/the-english-we-speak_2026/ep-260223

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Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts.
0:05.8	Our podcast series, Office English, is back with weekly episodes to help you improve your English at work.
0:13.0	Learn useful phrases to boost your career in English, from setting goals to using small talk,
0:19.1	to apologising when things go wrong.
0:21.8	Follow the Learning English for Work podcast to listen or visit BBClearningEnglish.com.
0:28.1	Hello and welcome to the English We Speak, where we're explaining phrases and expressions
0:33.6	used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I'm Faye Faye. Oh, and I'm Phil.
0:41.3	Phil, I was waiting for you to get off your phone before we could start recording this.
0:46.4	Sorry, I've got a friend who's going through a bit of a rough patch. He's feeling quite down, so I rang him for a chat to see if I could cheer him up.
0:54.7	Ah, okay. But why don't we learn how to use that phrase you just used, go through a rough patch?
1:01.3	Okay, well, the two keywords are rough and patch.
1:05.2	Rough is the opposite of smooth, and patch can refer to a piece of land.
1:13.7	Imagine you're driving along a smooth road. It's nice and easy to drive along and then you hit a rough patch of road. It gets bumpy. It's more
1:20.1	uncomfortable. It's difficult to drive on. Well, a rough patch is when something in your life
1:25.7	does that. Yes, when things get difficult, you're going through a rough patch.
1:30.8	The good thing about a rough patch, of course, is that it's only a patch.
1:35.4	You'll soon be out the other side, so it's just temporary.
1:38.8	Or maybe it's something that you want to think of as temporary.
1:42.9	Yeah, we use it to talk about difficult times in life.
1:46.1	Maybe you're going for a rough patch at work or in your relationship.
1:50.7	Sports teams can go through a rough patch where they struggle to win games.
1:54.5	Yes.
	...

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