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Kotomora

昨

yesterday, previous

JLPTN3StatusJōyō · grade 4FrequencyTop 500Strokes9

Readings

On'yomi

  • サク

Kun'yomi

—

Meaning

昨 centers on time that has just passed: yesterday or the immediate previous period. The idea of "previous" is a natural extension of the day before today.

Most common words using 昨

20 of 37
  • 昨日きのう
    N5

    yesterday

  • 昨年さくねん
    N3

    last year

  • 昨夜ゆうべ
    N1

    last night; yesterday evening

  • 昨夜さくや
    N1

    last night; yesterday evening

  • 昨今さっこん

    these days; nowadays; recently; lately

  • 一昨日おととい
    N5

    day before yesterday

  • 昨晩さくばん
    N1

    last night

  • 一昨年おととし
    N5

    year before last

  • 昨さく
    N3

    last (year); yesterday

  • 昨日今日きのうきょう

    yesterday and today

  • 昨年度さくねんど

    previous year (fiscal, academic, etc.)

  • 昨季さくき

    last season (e.g. in sports); equivalent season last year

  • 昨夏さっか

    last summer; summer of last year

  • 昨秋さくしゅう

    autumn of last year; fall of last year

  • 昨春さくしゅん

    last spring; the spring of last year

  • 昨年来さくねんらい

    since last year

  • 昨冬さくとう

    last winter

  • 一昨いっさく

    one previous

  • 一昨昨日いっさくさくじつ
    N3

    two days before yesterday; three days back (ago)

  • 一昨々夜いっさくさくや

    two nights before last

Explore all words using 昨 →

Study

Etymology

昨 combines 日 (day) with 乍, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of something recent or just past. The exact historical role of 乍 is uncertain, but the compound expresses a day that has just gone by.

Meaning mnemonic

The sun 日 on the left and the shape 乍 on the right look like a sun setting behind a fence. Picture yesterday's sun disappearing behind that fence, marking the previous day.

Reading mnemonic

For サク, imagine a sack of memories from yesterday: sack -> サク, and you open the sack to recall the previous day.