I'm not french, but I'll give this a shot le jour is morning ie: il fait jour (it's morning time) la journée is the whole entire day ie: on part toute la journée (we stay out the whole day.) le soir is the end of the day when the sun disappear; soirée is nighttime. Also important are greetings: When french say good morning, the say, "bonjour" But when they leave and part ways, they should say, "bonne journée" Same thing for nighttime: In greeting, "Bonsoir" In parting, "Bonne soirée"

-----Le mot "Jour" indique la période de 24 heures pendant laquelle la terre tourne sur elle-même. that mean "the duration of the action when the earth turn around herself" -----Le mot journée, quant à lui, exprime un espace de temps moins précis. Il ne comprend pas spécifiquement une période de 24 heures. that mean "not specifically 24 hours, it's a duration less precise,it includes "the morning, the evening and the afternoon" but not the night"

It's quite the same but jour/soir/matin is an amount of time and journée/soirée/matinée is a duration of time. More details: http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/an-annee-jour-journee-matin-matinee-soir-soiree.htm