toute la journée
In French, all day is said as toute la journée.
Meaning: the entire day (adv)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of toute (all/whole), la (the) and journée (day/duration of a day).
Which one should you use?
Use toute la journée to emphasize the duration or the span of the day. In contrast, la journée entière is used to emphasize the entirety of the day. While tout le jour exists, it is much rarer and typically refers to the daylight hours.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use tout le jour instead of toute la journée. While jour refers to a unit of time (a date), journée is the correct word for expressing the continuous duration of the day.
Did you know?
- The word journée shares its roots with the English word 'journey', as both describe a period of travel or a passage of time.
- In French, you can use the phrase bonne journée to wish someone a good day as they are leaving. This uses the duration form journée because you are wishing them well for the span of time remaining in their day.
- In certain old French texts, a 'journée' could specifically refer to the amount of work a person could complete in a single day.
Examples in context
- Il plut toute la journée.It rained all day.This sentence is useful for describing the duration of rain using toute la journée.Tatoeba #1995380 by sacredceltic, translation #2617238 by Prophete
- Il a plu toute la journée.It rained all day long.Tatoeba #1994711 by nimfeo, translation #9755084 by CK
- Je mange toute la journée.I eat all day.This sentence is useful for describing a continuous habit using toute la journée.Tatoeba #6849717 by Delapouite, translation #6849841 by Eccles17
- Je travaille toute la journée.I work all day.
- J'ai une réunion prévue durant toute la journée.I have a meeting scheduled all day.
- Je vais à la plage toute la journée.I'm going to the beach all day.
- On a fait du shopping pendant la journée entière.We went shopping the whole day.
- Il reste à la maison toute la journéeHe stays home all day
- Je vais travailler toute la journée demain.I'm going to work all day tomorrow.
- Hier, il a joué à des jeux vidéo toute la journée .Yesterday, he played video games all day.
- 324 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Gabriel and Léa are talking about their busy schedules.
- GabrielTu as travaillé toute la journée ?Did you work all day?
- LéaOui, je suis vraiment fatiguée.Yes, I am really tired.
- GabrielMoi aussi, j'ai lu toute la journée.Me too, I read all day.
- LéaOn devrait se reposer maintenant.We should rest now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “all day” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries journée, la, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
