How to Say ‘Last night’ in Japanese
きのうの夜
kinou no yoru
[kee-noh noh yoru]
💬 Usage Tip: [きのうの夜] literally “yesterday’s night” = last night. The [の] links words like “’s/of.”
🇯🇵 In Japan: Japanese often states time in chunks like this; it sounds natural and “report-like.”
Phrase Breakdown
きのう
kinou
[kee-noh]
yesterday
「きのう」 is “yesterday.” Combined with 「の夜」 it becomes “last night.”
きのうの夜にお湯が出なくなりました。
The hot water stopped working last night.
の
no
[noh]
of; ’s (possessive/linking particle)
Links nouns: 「きのうの夜」 = “yesterday’s night” → natural English “last night.”
きのうの夜からお湯が出ません。
The hot water hasn't worked since last night.
夜
yoru
[yoru]
night; evening
「夜」 completes the phrase 「きのうの夜」 (last night).
きのうの夜に連絡しました。
I contacted you last night.
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