一昨日おととい

also: おとつい · いっさくじつ

お

と

い

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun, adverb

day before yesterday

Refers to the day before yesterday. Can be used as a noun or adverbially without a particle in casual speech.

一昨おとと日いは雨あめだった。
The day before yesterday was rainy.
おととい、友とも達だちと映えい画がを見みに行いった。
I went to see a movie with a friend the day before yesterday.

Written forms

一昨日Usage13%
- おととい
  gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
  Standard kanji spelling; high priority.
- いっさくじつ
  Formal or literary reading; used in official or written contexts.
- おとつい
  gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
おとといUsage81%
gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
Common kana spelling, especially in casual writing or when avoiding the kanji.
おとついUsage6%
gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun
Dialectal or older pronunciation variant; rarely used in standard modern Japanese.
いっさくじつ

Kanji

一one, one radical (no.1)
昨yesterday, previous
日day, sun, Japan

Similar words

昨日きのう
Means 'yesterday', one day before today, while 一昨日 is two days before today.
明日あした
Means 'tomorrow', the day after today, while 一昨日 is two days before today.

Etymology

The kanji 一昨日 literally mean 'one before yesterday'. The reading おととい is a jukujikun (special kanji reading) of native origin, while いっさくじつ is the on'yomi reading used in formal contexts.