रात भर (raat bhar)

adverb A fixed adverbial phrase meaning 'all night, the whole night through' -- built from रात (raat, 'night') plus भर (bhar, 'full/entire'), a pattern that also works with other time words like दिन भर (din bhar, 'all day').
Sense 1 : throughout the night, all night long
adverb
Synonyms: पूरी रात (poorii raat), सारी रात (saarii raat)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will hear this constantly in complaints and confessions: बच्चा रात भर रोता रहा (bachchaa raat bhar rotaa rahaa, 'the child kept crying all night') or मैं रात भर सो नहीं पाया (main raat bhar so nahiin paayaa, 'I couldn't sleep all night') -- it is the go-to way to describe a sleepless or eventful night. The same भर (bhar) pattern extends naturally: दिन भर (din bhar, 'all day'), साल भर (saal bhar, 'all year'), उम्र भर (umr bhar, 'one's whole life') -- worth learning as a family once you have this one.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners sometimes try to add a postposition after this phrase (e.g. treating it like रात भर में, raat bhar men) when a plain adverbial 'all night' is meant; रात भर (raat bhar) alone already functions as a complete time adverb without needing को (ko) or में (men) unless you specifically mean 'within the night' or 'over the course of the night.' 2) The word order is fixed as रात भर (raat bhar), not भर रात (bhar raat) -- भर (bhar) always follows the noun it attaches to.
Sample Sentences:
बच्चा रात भर रोता रहा। The child kept crying all night.
(bachchaa raat bhar rotaa rahaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
मैं रात भर सो नहीं पाया। I couldn't sleep all night.
(main raat bhar so nahiin paayaa।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
वह रात भर पढ़ती रहती है, फिर भी नंबर कम आते हैं। She studies all night, and yet her marks are low.
(vah raat bhar padhtii rahtii hai, phir bhii nambar kam aate hain।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Habitual -- Tense: Present -- Voice: Active
अगर बिजली नहीं जाती तो हम रात भर काम कर लेते। If the power hadn't gone out, we would have worked all night.
(agar bijlii nahiin jaatii to ham raat bhar kaam kar lete।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Counterfactual -- Aspect: Perfective -- Voice: Active
कृपया रात भर गेट खुला मत छोड़िए। Please don't leave the gate open all night.
(kripyaa raat bhar get khulaa mat chhodie।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Imperative -- Voice: Active
कल रात भर तेज़ बारिश होती रही। It kept raining heavily all night yesterday.
(kal raat bhar tez baarish hotii rahii।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
शायद वह रात भर जागता रहा हो, इसलिए इतना थका लग रहा है। He may have stayed awake all night, that's why he looks so tired.
(shaayad vah raat bhar jaagtaa rahaa ho, islie itnaa thakaa lag rahaa hai।)
Register: Neutral -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Aspect: Continuous -- Voice: Active
पूरा शहर रात भर जगाया जाता रहा जब तक बिजली नहीं आई। The whole city was kept awake all night until the power came back.
(pooraa shahar raat bhar jagaayaa jaataa rahaa jab tak bijlii nahiin aaii।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Passive
मरीज़ को रात भर होश नहीं आया। The patient did not regain consciousness all night.
(mariiz ko raat bhar hosh nahiin aayaa।)
Register: Formal -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Perfective -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
प्रियतम की याद में विरहिणी रात भर करवटें बदलती रही। Longing for her beloved, the separated woman tossed and turned all night.
(priytam kii yaad men virahinii raat bhar karavten badaltii rahii।)
Register: Literary -- Mood: Indicative -- Aspect: Continuous -- Tense: Past -- Voice: Active
अगर तुम रात भर मोबाइल न चलाओ तो सुबह उठना आसान हो जाए। If you don't use your phone all night, waking up in the morning would be easier.
(agar tum raat bhar mobaail n chalaao to subah uthnaa aasaan ho jaae।)
Register: Casual -- Mood: Subjunctive -- Voice: Active