Yesterday in Different Languages
Discover 'Yesterday' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
Yesterday is a small word with a big impact. It signifies the day before today, carrying with it a sense of nostalgia and memories. The word 'yesterday' holds cultural importance across the globe, as many stories, songs, and traditions revolve around reminiscing about the past. Understanding the translation of 'yesterday' in different languages can offer fascinating insights into various cultures and their unique perspectives on time and memory.
For instance, the German word for yesterday, 'gestern,' also refers to a time that is no longer accessible, much like the English term. Meanwhile, the Spanish translation, 'ayer,' is derived from the Latin word 'heri,' which means 'the day before this day.' In Japanese, 'kinō' (昨日) combines the characters for 'yesterday' and 'day,' emphasizing the concept of a single day in the past.
Discovering the translations of 'yesterday' in various languages can be a captivating journey through linguistic and cultural diversity. Below, we have compiled a list of translations of 'yesterday' in different languages to help you explore this intriguing world.
Yesterday
Yesterday in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | gister | ||
| The Afrikaans word "gister" (yesterday) is derived from the Old English word "gestern" and has the alternate meaning of "last night" in certain contexts. | |||
| Amharic | ትናንት | ||
| The Amharic word "ትናንት" originally meant "last night" or "the night before", but over time its meaning shifted to "yesterday". | |||
| Hausa | jiya | ||
| "Jiya" in Hausa is related to "yesterday" in English and also means "early in the morning" or "a long time ago." | |||
| Igbo | yesterdaynyaahụ | ||
| "Yesterdaynyaahụ" can also mean "recently" or "in the past". | |||
| Malagasy | omaly | ||
| Malagasy "omaly" (yesterday) can also mean "before" in the context of time. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | dzulo | ||
| The word "dzulo" can also mean "the day before yesterday" in Nyanja (Chichewa). | |||
| Shona | nezuro | ||
| The word "nezuro" in Shona is derived from the verb "kuzura," which means "to rest," and refers to the time when people rest after a day's work. | |||
| Somali | shalay | ||
| The term 'shalay' is also used in a broader sense to refer to a period of time that has ended, making it a general term for the past. | |||
| Sesotho | maobane | ||
| Maobane is derived from ma-"mother" + obane "day before". It can also be used to refer to a person who was born on the day before the speaker's birthday. | |||
| Swahili | jana | ||
| The Swahili word "jana" also has meanings of "last year" or "not long ago". | |||
| Xhosa | izolo | ||
| Izilo derives from the word 'zola', meaning 'to hide', and is also used in some contexts to mean 'last year'. | |||
| Yoruba | lana | ||
| The word "lana" in Yoruba means both "yesterday" and "the sun sets in the evening." | |||
| Zulu | izolo | ||
| Zulu "izolo" also means "the other day", "recently", or "not long ago". | |||
| Bambara | kunu | ||
| Ewe | tsᴐ si va yi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | ejo | ||
| Lingala | lobi eleki | ||
| Luganda | jjo | ||
| Sepedi | maabane | ||
| Twi (Akan) | nnora | ||
Yesterday in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | في الامس | ||
| The name "yesterday" in Arabic, 'فِي الْأَمْس', is a phrase meaning 'in the time past,' and also can refer to the day that has just passed. | |||
| Hebrew | אתמול | ||
| The word "אתמול" (etmol) in Hebrew derives from the root "תמל" (tml), meaning "to conceal" or "to hide", alluding to the fact that yesterday is a day that has passed and is now hidden from view. | |||
| Pashto | پرون | ||
| The etymology of "پرون" (yesterday) can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root word "*yes-", meaning "yesterday." | |||
| Arabic | في الامس | ||
| The name "yesterday" in Arabic, 'فِي الْأَمْس', is a phrase meaning 'in the time past,' and also can refer to the day that has just passed. | |||
Yesterday in Western European Languages
| Albanian | dje | ||
| The Albanian word "dje" derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰés- meaning "yesterday" and is related to the Latin word "heri" with the same meaning. | |||
| Basque | atzo | ||
| The word 'atzo' can also refer to 'lately', 'recently', or 'just now'. | |||
| Catalan | ahir | ||
| The word "ahir" can also carry the alternate meanings of "recently," "not long ago," or "a short while before."} | |||
| Croatian | jučer | ||
| The word "jučer" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word *vьčera, which also means "evening". | |||
| Danish | i går | ||
| I går was once spelled 'igår', which was then written 'i gaar' with a 'W' and not 'V' | |||
| Dutch | gisteren | ||
| The word "gisteren" is derived from the Old Dutch word "gister" meaning "the day before" and is related to the Old English word "geistern" meaning "last night". | |||
| English | yesterday | ||
| The word "yesterday" derives from the Old English "ġe-strēon," which literally translates to "earlier time." | |||
| French | hier | ||
| The French word "hier" can also be used to mean "the previous day" or "the day before yesterday." | |||
| Frisian | juster | ||
| The word "juster" can also mean "last night" or "the previous day" in Frisian. | |||
| Galician | onte | ||
| Galician "onte" comes from Latin *ante and has the same alternate meaning of "before". | |||
| German | gestern | ||
| The word "gestern" in German comes from the Old High German word "gestaron", meaning “the day before." | |||
| Icelandic | í gær | ||
| The word "í gær" also refers to the day before yesterday, with "í fyrradag" meaning two days ago. | |||
| Irish | inné | ||
| The Irish word "inné" can also mean "the day before yesterday" in Munster Irish | |||
| Italian | ieri | ||
| The word "ieri" likely derives from the Latin words "heri" or "heri die," meaning "on the previous day." | |||
| Luxembourgish | gëschter | ||
| "Gëschter" originates from the Old High German word "gistera", meaning both "yesterday" and "last night." | |||
| Maltese | il-bierah | ||
| Il-bierah literally means "the other day", and can also refer to a time in the recent past. | |||
| Norwegian | i går | ||
| The Norwegian word "i går" contains "gå" which means "go," suggesting the day that has passed since one has left. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | ontem | ||
| It comes from the Latin "antediem", or "before day". In some old Portuguese texts, it also meant "tomorrow". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | an-dè | ||
| The word "an-dè" may also refer to the "day before yesterday" or to "the previous day" in some contexts. | |||
| Spanish | ayer | ||
| The Spanish word "ayer" ultimately derives from the Latin word "heri," which also meant "yesterday." | |||
| Swedish | i går | ||
| The Swedish word "i går" also literally translates to "in yesterday," a construction also found in Old English but no longer current. | |||
| Welsh | ddoe | ||
| The Welsh word "ddoe" can also mean "the day before yesterday" or "a while ago". | |||
Yesterday in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | учора | ||
| The Belarusian word "учора" is etymologically related to the Ukrainian word "вчора," which in turn comes from the Proto-Slavic root *vьčerъ, meaning "late, yesterday." | |||
| Bosnian | juce | ||
| (Bosnian) 'juče' is also used to describe the day before yesterday. | |||
| Bulgarian | вчера | ||
| The word "вчера" in Bulgarian is of Slavic origin and is related to the words for "evening" and "time before dawn". | |||
| Czech | včera | ||
| The word "včera" in Czech can also mean "the day before yesterday" in some contexts. | |||
| Estonian | eile | ||
| The word "eile" in Estonian is thought to be derived from the Proto-Uralic word *e̯le, meaning "the day before". | |||
| Finnish | eilen | ||
| Eilen is etymologically related to other Finnic words such as Estonian eilne, Votic eilne, and Livonian eila "yesterday"} | |||
| Hungarian | tegnap | ||
| "tegnap" in addition to "yesterday" can refer to a general amount of time in the past (such as an unspecified number of months or weeks). | |||
| Latvian | vakar | ||
| "Vakars" also means "evening" in Latvian, and comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *wes-per-, meaning "evening". | |||
| Lithuanian | vakar | ||
| The word "vakar" likely derives from the Proto-Indo-European word "h₂wes" meaning "night". | |||
| Macedonian | вчера | ||
| The word "вчера" in Macedonian is also used to refer to "the day before yesterday" if the context is clear. | |||
| Polish | wczoraj | ||
| The Polish word "wczoraj" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *vъčera, which meant "the day before last". | |||
| Romanian | ieri | ||
| The Romanian word "ieri" has also been used to refer to "otherworldly" things, such as the afterlife or the underworld. | |||
| Russian | вчерашний день | ||
| Derived from Old Slavic "v" (from) and "čera" (time). Its archaic meaning is "the evening before". Its synonymous word is "денница" (morning star). | |||
| Serbian | јуче | ||
| The word "јуче" in Serbian derives from the Proto-Slavic "vьčera". It can also refer to "the day before" or serve as a metaphorical expression for "the recent past". | |||
| Slovak | včera | ||
| "Včera" comes from Proto-Slavic "vьčera" and is cognate with "včer", a word meaning "late evening" in Proto-Slavic. | |||
| Slovenian | včeraj | ||
| Slovenian "včeraj" derives from the Proto-Slavic *vьčera, with possible meanings "on the evening before" or "since the evening." | |||
| Ukrainian | вчора | ||
| Вчора is derived from Old Church Slavonic въчера(сь) and cognates to Polish wczoraj and Russian вчера. | |||
Yesterday in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | গতকাল | ||
| "গতকাল" is derived from the Sanskrit word "gata-kala," which literally means "gone time". | |||
| Gujarati | ગઇકાલે | ||
| Hindi | बिता कल | ||
| The word 'बिता कल' ('yesterday') in Hindi can also refer to the day before yesterday or a distant past. | |||
| Kannada | ನಿನ್ನೆ | ||
| The word 'ನಿನ್ನೆ' derives from the Sanskrit 'nis' meaning 'night' and 'na' suffix indicating past tense. | |||
| Malayalam | ഇന്നലെ | ||
| Marathi | काल | ||
| The word 'काल' in Marathi is derived from the Sanskrit word 'कालः' which can have different meanings depending on the context, including 'time', 'death', and 'black' | |||
| Nepali | हिजो | ||
| The word 'हिजो' in Nepali literally means 'the day that passed' and is related to the word 'हिउँ' meaning 'snow', as snow tends to melt away quickly | |||
| Punjabi | ਕੱਲ | ||
| The word "ਕੱਲ" in Punjabi can also mean "tomorrow" when used in a conditional sentence. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ඊයේ | ||
| Tamil | நேற்று | ||
| In old Tamil literature, the word "நேற்று" could also refer to "the day before yesterday". | |||
| Telugu | నిన్న | ||
| The Telugu word "నిన్న" (yesterday) also means "last year" and "last night". | |||
| Urdu | کل | ||
| "کل" is an Arabic loanword with many other meanings in Urdu, including "tomorrow" and "the day before yesterday". | |||
Yesterday in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 昨天 | ||
| The Chinese character "昨天" can also mean "the day before yesterday" in some dialects. | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 昨天 | ||
| 「昨天」在古代也曾指「前日」或「前天」 | |||
| Japanese | 昨日 | ||
| The characters of "昨日" can also be read as "きのう" (kinou) in Sino-Japanese on-yomi readings. | |||
| Korean | 어제 | ||
| The word "어제" (eoje) in Korean can also mean "the day before" or "the time before". | |||
| Mongolian | өчигдөр | ||
| The Mongolian word "өчигдөр" can also refer to a "preceding generation" or "the day before the day before yesterday". | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | မနေ့က | ||
| The word "မနေ့က" can also mean "the day before yesterday" or "recently." | |||
Yesterday in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kemarin | ||
| In Indonesian, "kemarin" also means "the day before yesterday" or "recently". | |||
| Javanese | wingi | ||
| Javanese "wingi" can also mean "the day before." | |||
| Khmer | ម្សិលមិញ | ||
| The word "ម្សិលមិញ" is derived from the Proto-Mon-Khmer word *kɔŋ-ʔɑŋ, which also means "night". | |||
| Lao | ມື້ວານນີ້ | ||
| Malay | semalam | ||
| The word "semalam" in Malay has an interesting etymology, meaning both "yesterday" and "last night". | |||
| Thai | เมื่อวานนี้ | ||
| "เมื่อวานนี้" (when-wan-nee) is a Thai word that literally translates to "from when" or "as of when". | |||
| Vietnamese | hôm qua | ||
| The word "hôm qua" can also mean "a long time ago" or "in the past." | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kahapon | ||
Yesterday in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | dünən | ||
| Dünün is a loan word from Persian that has a similar form and meaning to its Arabic equivalent "ems". | |||
| Kazakh | кеше | ||
| Kyrgyz | кечээ | ||
| "Кээчээ" is also a Kyrgyz verb meaning "to be late" or "to delay". | |||
| Tajik | дирӯз | ||
| The Tajik word "дирӯз" not only means "yesterday", but also "the day after tomorrow" in the past and "the day before yesterday" in the future. | |||
| Turkmen | düýn | ||
| Uzbek | kecha | ||
| The word "kecha" is also used in Uzbek to refer to "last night" or "evening before yesterday". | |||
| Uyghur | تۈنۈگۈن | ||
Yesterday in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | i nehinei | ||
| "Nehinei" means "behind" when placed in front of other words, but also means "yesterday" when alone | |||
| Maori | inanahi | ||
| The word "inanahi" can also refer to the day before yesterday or the day after tomorrow, depending on the context. | |||
| Samoan | ananafi | ||
| In Samoan, 'ananafi' can also be a noun meaning 'the day before yesterday'. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kahapon | ||
Yesterday in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | wasüru | ||
| Guarani | kuehe | ||
Yesterday in International Languages
| Esperanto | hieraŭ | ||
| The Esperanto root of 'hieraŭ' is 'hier,' meaning 'sun;' thus hieraŭ is 'sun before today.' | |||
| Latin | hesterno | ||
| Hesterno derives from the Latin word heri meaning "yesterday," and shares a root with the word "heir." | |||
Yesterday in Others Languages
| Greek | εχθές | ||
| "Εχθές" also means "enemy" in ancient and modern Greek. This is because the ancient Greeks believed that their enemies were "from yesterday," i.e. they were new and unknown. | |||
| Hmong | nag hmo | ||
| The word "nag hmo" literally means "day that has passed" in Hmong. | |||
| Kurdish | do | ||
| The word "do" in Kurdish also means "the day before yesterday". | |||
| Turkish | dün | ||
| The word "dün" in Turkish, meaning "yesterday," is also used to refer to the "world" or "universe." | |||
| Xhosa | izolo | ||
| Izilo derives from the word 'zola', meaning 'to hide', and is also used in some contexts to mean 'last year'. | |||
| Yiddish | נעכטן | ||
| Zulu | izolo | ||
| Zulu "izolo" also means "the other day", "recently", or "not long ago". | |||
| Assamese | কালি | ||
| Aymara | wasüru | ||
| Bhojpuri | काल्हु के भइल | ||
| Dhivehi | އިއްޔެ | ||
| Dogri | पिछले रोज | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kahapon | ||
| Guarani | kuehe | ||
| Ilocano | idi kalman | ||
| Krio | yɛstide | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | دوێنێ | ||
| Maithili | काल्हि | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯉꯔꯥꯡ | ||
| Mizo | nimin | ||
| Oromo | kaleessa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଗତକାଲି | ||
| Quechua | qayna punchaw | ||
| Sanskrit | ह्यः | ||
| Tatar | кичә | ||
| Tigrinya | ትማሊ | ||
| Tsonga | tolo | ||