昨さっ今こん

also: さくこん

さ

っ

こ

ん

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

noun, adverb

these days; nowadays; recently

Refers to the current period or recent times, often with a nuance of ongoing change or contrast with the past. Common in news, essays, and formal speech.

昨さっ今こんの経けい済ざい状じょう況きょうは厳きびしい。
The economic situation these days is tough.
昨さっ今こん、リモートワークが増ふえている。
Nowadays, remote work is increasing.

Usage patterns

昨さっ今こんの〈事こと〉the recent state of / current trend in (something)
昨さっ今こんの経けい済ざい情じょう勢せいは不ふ安あん定ていだ。
The current economic situation is unstable.
昨さっ今こんでは〈事こと〉nowadays, in contrast to before
昨さっ今こんでは、スマートフォンがなければ生せい活かつできない人ひとが多おおい。
Nowadays, many people can't live without a smartphone.
昨さっ今こん、〈事こと〉と言いわれているit is said that recently...
昨さっ今こん、若わか者ものの読どく書しょ量りょうが減へっていると言いわれている。
It's said that young people's amount of reading has been decreasing lately.

Kanji

昨yesterday, previous
今now

Related words

最さい近きんN5
最近 is the common, casual word for 'recently'; 昨今 is more formal and often used to describe a broader societal trend rather than a personal recent event.
近ちか頃ごろN3
近頃 is a conversational way to say 'lately'; 昨今 is more formal and typically appears in writing about ongoing social or economic trends.
今いま時どきN1
今どき often carries a critical or ironic tone about 'these modern times'; 昨今 is neutral and formal, common in news and essays.
近きん年ねん
昨今 is an even more formal, often journalistic term for 'these days', close in register to 近年 but slightly more literary.

Don't confuse with

昨さく年ねんN3
昨年 means 'last year' while 昨今 means 'these days'; the shared 昨 kanji can mislead learners into mixing up the two time frames.

Written forms

昨今Usage100%
- さっこん
  Standard kanji spelling; widely used in news and formal contexts.
- さくこん
  out-dated reading
  Obsolete reading; learners should use さっこん.
さくこん
out-dated reading

Etymology

Compound of 昨 (yesterday, past) and 今 (now), literally 'yesterday and now', extended to mean 'these days' or 'recently'.