Japanese symbol for “yesterday”
昨日
きのう
Romaji: kinou
yesterday
In Japanese, yesterday is 昨日, read きのう (kinou).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- adv, n yesterday
Written forms: 昨日. Readings: きのう、さくじつ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “yesterday”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 昨 | さく saku | last (year); yesterday |
| イエスタデイ | イエスタデイ iesutadei | Yesterday (1965 song by the Beatles) |
| イエスタデー | イエスタデー iesutadee | yesterday |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 昨年 | さくねん sakunen | last year |
| 一昨年 | おととし ototoshi | year before last |
| 昨夜 | さくや sakuya | last night; yesterday evening |
| 昨今 | さっこん sakkon | these days; nowadays; recently |
| 今日 | きょう kyou | today; this day |
| 日本 | にほん nihon | Japan |
| 毎日 | まいにち mainichi | every day; daily |
| 明日 | あした ashita | tomorrow |
See also: Chinese symbol for “yesterday”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.