Meaning of 昨天
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- yesterday
How to use 昨天
昨天 is a time word that usually goes before the verb, either at the start of the sentence or right after the subject. It pairs naturally with 了 for finished actions. Example: 我昨天去了超市。(Wǒ zuótiān qù le chāoshì.) I went to the supermarket yesterday.
昨 (zuó) has the sun radical 日 on the left, so it points to a past day, and 天 (tiān) means day. Put them together and the sun that already went down is 昨天, yesterday.
Common mistake: Learners often put 昨天 at the end of the sentence like English, saying 我去超市昨天. In Chinese it must come before the verb: 我昨天去超市. Also watch the tone. 昨 is second tone (zuó), not third tone like 左 (zuǒ).
昨天 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
昨 zuó · yesterday · 9 strokes
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- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 9
天 tiān · day · 4 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 昨天.
| 今天 | jīntiān | today; the present time; now |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow |
| 天气 | tiānqì | weather |
| 白天 | báitiān | daytime; during the day |
| 星期天 | xīngqītiān | Sunday |
| 后天 | hòutiān | the day after tomorrow; life after birth (the period in which one develops through experie |
| 半天 | bàntiān | half of the day; a long time |
| 前天 | qiántiān | the day before yesterday |
| 夏天 | xiàtiān | summer |
| 春天 | chūntiān | spring (season) |
| 冬天 | dōngtiān | winter |
| 天上 | tiānshàng | the sky; the heavens |
Questions about 昨天
What does 昨天 mean?
昨天 (zuótiān) means "yesterday" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 昨天?
昨天 is made of 2 characters: 昨 (9 strokes), 天 (4 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 昨天 an HSK word?
Yes. 昨天 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say the day before yesterday in Chinese?
Use 前天 (qiántiān). It follows the same pattern as 后天 (hòutiān), the day after tomorrow, so the full set is 前天, 昨天, 今天, 明天, 后天.
Can I say 昨天晚上 for last night?
Yes. 昨天晚上 (zuótiān wǎnshang) means last night, and in speech it is often shortened to 昨晚 (zuówǎn). The same works for 昨天早上 (yesterday morning).