How to say “yesterday” in Chinese
yesterday
“Yesterday” in Chinese is 昨天, zuó tiān: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
昨天 is read zuó tiān: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 日 “sun, day”.
A person 大 with a stroke above the head: the sky.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “昨天”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 昨天. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 你昨天为什么没来上课？nǐzuótiānwèishénmeméiláishàngkèWhy didn't you come to class yesterday?
- 昨天来了一位新老师。zuótiānláileyíwèixīnlǎoshīA new teacher came yesterday.
- 他昨天离开了这个城市tāzuótiānlíkāilezhègechéngshìHe left this city yesterday.
- 今天比昨天凉快jīntiānbǐzuótiānliángkuaiIt's cooler today than yesterday.
- 我直到昨天才知道wǒzhídàozuótiāncáizhīdàoI only found out yesterday.
- 昨天的比赛怎么样？zuótiāndebǐsàizěnmeyàngHow was yesterday's match?
More words from the lesson “Today, tomorrow, yesterday”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “yesterday” in Chinese?
“Yesterday” in Chinese is 昨天, pinyin zuótiān.
What does 昨天 mean?
昨天 (zuótiān) means “yesterday”.
How do you write 昨天?
昨天 is 2 characters: 昨 (zuó) — yesterday's; 天 (tiān) — sky, day. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 昨天?
昨天 is read zuótiān. Tones: zuó — second tone, tiān — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“yesterday” in the lesson “Today, tomorrow, yesterday”
This word is from the topic “Time and the day” of HSK 1. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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