English–Japanese

“last year” in Japanese

Japanese

Also前年 (zennen) · 昨年 (sakunen)

Romajikyonen

去年は東京に住んでいました。kyo nen wa tō kyō ni su n de i ma shi ta

Last year, I lived in Tokyo.

“Last year” in Japanese is 去年 (kyonen).

The word places an event in the calendar year immediately before the present year.

去年の冬にスキーを始めました。kyo nen no fuyu ni su kī o haji me ma shi ta

Last winter, I started skiing.

In conversation, 去年 (kyonen) often appears at the beginning of a sentence with は (wa) to set the time before the main event.

zennen

nounlast year

前年より売上が増えました。zen nen yo ri uriage ga fu e ma shi ta

Sales increased compared with last year.

sakunen

nounlast year

昨年は毎日忙しかったです。saku nen wa mai nichi isoga shi ka tta de su

Last year, I was busy every day.