tu as passé une bonne journée ?
In French, "did you have a good day?" is expressed as tu as passé une bonne journée ?
This phrase is a question used to ask someone about their experiences during the day that has just passed. You can also ask how a person's day went by using Est-ce que votre journée s'est bien passée? or ask more generally how their day was using Comment s'est passée ta journée?
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase tu as passé une bonne journée ? literally translates to "you have passed a good day?" because the verb passer is used in French to mean spending or passing time.
Which one should you use?
The default form tu as passé une bonne journée ? is used for informal situations. For a more standard and grammatically complete version of the question, you can add Est-ce que to the beginning: Est-ce que tu as passé une bonne journée ?
How does it change in a sentence?
When speaking to a stranger, a superior or a group of people, you should change the subject and verb to the formal or plural form: vous avez passé une bonne journée ?
Did you know?
- The English word 'journey' and the French word journée share the same ancient root, meaning they both stem from the concept of a single day.
- While journée refers to the span of time in a day, the word jour refers to a specific date or the concept of daylight. Using the wrong one can change a sentence from describing an experience to stating a fact.
- French uses the adjective bonne for 'good' in bonne journée, but if the day was merely 'okay', a speaker might say pas mal meaning 'not bad'.
Examples in context
- Alors, tu as passé une bonne journée ?So, did you have a good day?
Example conversation
Lucas arrives home and greets Manon in the evening.
- LucasSalut Manon, tu as passé une bonne journée ?Hi Manon, did you have a good day?
- ManonOui, c'était très agréable, merci.Yes, it was very pleasant, thank you.
- LucasJe suis ravi de l'entendre.I am delighted to hear that.
- ManonEt toi, Lucas, comment était la tienne ?And you, Lucas, how was yours?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries as, journée, tu, une, CC BY-SA 4.0.
