todo el día
/todo el dia/from spelling rules
The English phrase "all day" is translated into Spanish as todo el día.
The phrase is used as an adverb to describe an action that lasts for the entire duration of a single day.
Meaning: the entire day (adv)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of todo (all/every), el (the) and día (day).
Which one should you use?
While todo el día refers to the entire duration of one single day, you should use todos los días if you want to say "every day" to describe something that happens on a recurring basis.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, people might use todo el día entero to say all day.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because día is a masculine noun, you must use the masculine article el and the masculine adjective todo.
Did you know?
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, using todo el día to describe a work shift can be an exaggeration, as a typical 'all day' workday often includes a long midday break for lunch and rest.
- The masculine form todo el día is mandatory because día is one of a handful of nouns that ends in '-a' but is actually masculine.
- While English speakers use 'day' to describe a 24-hour period, the Spanish word día stems from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'sky' or 'heaven'.
Examples in context
- Nevó todo el día.It snowed all day.This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase todo el día in the context of weather.Tatoeba #9696160 by Shadow96, translation #6770262 by CK
- Dormí todo el día.I slept all day.This sentence shows how to use todo el día when describing sleep.Tatoeba #4576692 by DarkHollow, translation #4401053 by CK
- Llovió todo el día.It rained all day long.This sentence demonstrates the use of todo el día regarding rainfall.Tatoeba #4464247 by ecorralest101, translation #9755084 by CK
- Trabajé durante todo el día.I worked all day.
- La conferencia durará durante el día completo.The conference will last all day.
- El evento se llevará a cabo a lo largo del día.The event will take place throughout the day.
- Jugamos fútbol todo el día.We played soccer all day.
- Pasé todo el santo día aprendiendo español.I spent the whole damn day learning Spanish.
- Estuve en la playa el día entero.I was at the beach all day.
- 232 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and María are talking at home about work.
- María¿Trabajaste todo el día?Did you work all day?
- DanielSí, estuve ocupado todo el día.Yes, I was busy all day.
- MaríaPareces muy cansado, Daniel.You look very tired, Daniel.
- DanielEs que fue un día largo.It's just that it was a long day.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “all day” translations and entries todo el día, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries día, el, todo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
