How to Say ‘What did you eat yesterday?’ in Japanese
きのうは何を食べましたか。
kinou wa nani o tabe mashi ta ka
[kee-NOH wah na-ni oh tah-BEH mah-shee tah kah]
💬 Usage Tip: Time words like きのう take no に. Adding は here just sets yesterday as the subject of the conversation, as in "As for yesterday..."
Phrase Breakdown
きのうは
kinou wa
yesterday (topic)
きのう (kinou) means 'yesterday'. は is pronounced 'wa'. Stretch the 'nou' slightly: kinoo wa.
きのうは休みでした。
Yesterday was a day off.
Words in this phrase
きのう
kinou
[kee-NOH]
yesterday
Time word meaning the day before today.
きのう病院に行きました。
I went to the hospital yesterday.
は
wa
[wah]
topic marker; as for
Marks 'today' as the topic. Written は but pronounced 'wa.'
本日はお時間をいただき、ありがとうございます。
Thank you for giving me your time today.
何を食べましたか。
nani o tabe mashi ta ka
what did you eat?
何を (nani o) means 'what' as the object, and 食べましたか means 'did you eat'. Say 'tabemash'ta ka' with the 'i' nearly silent.
夜は何を食べましたか。
What did you eat in the evening?
Words in this phrase
何
nani
[na-ni]
what
Used to ask for information about something.
何が欲しい？
What do you want?
を
o
[oh]
object marker
The particle を marks the direct object of a verb.
チケットを二枚ください。
Two tickets, please.
食べ
tabe
[tah-BEH]
eat (stem)
Stem of taberu 'to eat', used before polite endings.
一緒に食べましょう。
Let's eat together.
まし
mashi
[mah-shee]
polite past stem
Part of the polite past ending in a verb phrase.
昨日は多くのことを学びました。
I learned many things yesterday.
た
ta
[tah]
past tense ending
This ending completes the polite past tense form.
空席がございまし た。
There were vacant seats.
か
ka
[kah]
question marker
Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question.
A席はありますか。
Are there A seats available?
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