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一昨日 (ototoi) Japanese meaning: day before yesterday | Kotomora

一昨日おととい

also: おとつい · いっさくじつ

お

と

と

い

Common word›JLPTN5›Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

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.

Usage patterns

一昨日おととい〈動詞どうし〉to do something the day before yesterday (used adverbially, no particle needed)
一昨おとと日い、友とも達だちに会あいました。
I met my friend the day before yesterday.
一昨日おとといからsince the day before yesterday
一昨おとと日いから頭あたまが痛いたい。
I've had a headache since the day before yesterday.
一昨日おとといの夜よるthe night before last
一昨おとと日いの夜よる、雨あめが降ふった。
It rained the night before last.

Kanji

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

Opposites

明後日あさってN5
一昨日 means the day before yesterday, while 明後日 means the day after tomorrow, the mirror-image time reference.

Don't confuse with

一昨年おととしN5
一昨日 (the day before yesterday) and 一昨年 (the year before last) share the same 一昨 prefix and are easy to mix up, but one counts days and the other counts years.
一いっ昨さく昨さく日じつN3
一昨昨日 (three days ago) is easily confused with the shorter 一昨日 (two days ago, 'the day before yesterday') because of the overlapping kanji.

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

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.

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