How do you say last year in Japanese how is it used in a sentence

The most common way to say "last year" in Japanese is 去年 (kyonen). This is the standard, everyday vocabulary word you will use when speaking with friends, family members, classmates, or coworkers in standard polite conversation.

However, Japanese is a language heavily influenced by context and formality levels. If you are reading a newspaper, writing an official business email, or delivering a formal speech, you will instead use the word 昨年 (sakunen). Both of these words mean the exact same thing and refer to the same timeframe, but sakunen projects a much more sophisticated, highly professional tone.

How to Use It in a Sentence

In Japanese grammar, relative time words—like last year, today, next month, or tomorrow—operate under a specific rule: they do not require a target time particle like に (ni). In English, we might say "in 2025," but for relative time, you simply state the word itself.

As a general rule, you should place kyonen or sakunen near the beginning of your sentence. This immediately establishes the timeframe for the listener before you introduce the action. If you want to emphasize that "last year" is the core topic you are discussing, you can attach the topic marker は (wa) directly to the word.

Here is how you can naturally structure sentences using both variations:

Using Kyonen (Everyday Speech)

• 去年、日本へ行きました。

  (Kyonen, Nihon e ikimashita.)

  Translation: I went to Japan last year.

• 去年、新しい仕事を始めました。

  (Kyonen, atarashii shigoto o hajimemashita.)

  Translation: I started a new job last year.

• 去年はとても忙しかったです。

  (Kyonen wa totemo isogashikatta desu.)

  Translation: Last year was very busy. (Note the use of wa to emphasize the timeframe).

Using Sakunen (Formal & Business)

• 昨年は大変お世話になりました。

  (Sakunen wa taihen osewa ni narimashita.)

  Translation: Thank you very much for your support last year. (This is a standard set phrase for New Year's business emails).

• 昨年のプロジェクトは成功しました。

  (Sakunen no purojekuto wa seikou shimashita.)

  Translation: Last year's project was successful.

While Japanese sentence structure is flexible—allowing you to place kyonen after the subject, such as Watashi wa kyonen...—keeping your time words at the beginning of the sentence is the most natural and foolproof method for language learners.

The most common way to say "last year" in Japanese is 去年 (kyonen).

In everyday Japanese, 去年 (kyonen) is used when talking about something that happened during the previous year. It functions much like the phrase "last year" in English and is commonly used in both casual and formal conversations.

Here are a few examples:

1. 去年、日本へ行きました。
(Kyonen, Nihon e ikimashita.)
Translation: I went to Japan last year.

2. 去年、新しい仕事を始めました。
(Kyonen, atarashii shigoto o hajimemashita.)
Translation: I started a new job last year.

3. 去年はとても忙しかったです。
(Kyonen wa totemo isogashikatta desu.)
Translation: Last year was very busy.

One thing I noticed while studying basic Japanese is that kyonen is often placed near the beginning of a sentence because it provides the time reference for the action being discussed. However, Japanese sentence structure is flexible, so the exact placement can vary depending on the context.

It's also helpful to learn a few related time expressions:

• 今年 (kotoshi) – this year
• 来年 (rainen) – next year
• 昨年 (sakunen) – last year (more formal, often used in writing, business communication, or news reports)

In everyday conversation, 去年 (kyonen) is usually the most natural and commonly used expression. If you're speaking with friends, classmates, or coworkers, you'll hear it frequently when discussing past experiences, travel, work, studies, or personal events.

Overall, if you're learning Japanese, 去年 (kyonen) is the standard word for "last year" and is one of the first time-related expressions worth memorizing because it appears regularly in everyday conversations.

Also Read: How to say please in japanese?

Are you interested in going to Japan? Wow, you have recent plans for a Japan tour! Great! But do you know how to speak or understand the Japanese language? Well, there are some essential topics without the knowledge of which you must not visit Japan. You must be able to say some basic sentences in the Japanese language. Among them, you have to know how to speak the dates and timing in the Japanese language. Well, it may be difficult to learn but not an impossible task at all.

Let us first discuss how to say last year in Japanese. Well, there are four different ways of speaking 'last year' in Japanese. They are:

Image source: Google

1. Many Japanese utter the word 'sakunen' which means last year.

2. Some say 'Kyonen' to mean last year.

3. Well, 'kyunen' is also widely used to mean the old year.

4. To make people understand the previous year, the Japanese say Zen'nen.

5. To mean anything related to old times, former times, a few years back, and last year.

These are the words for the English word 'last year' in Japanese that you can utilize in any Japanese sentence.

Now let us discuss how the Japanese translation for the days of the week:

1. In Japanese the Monday is said as getsuyobi.

2. Kayobi and Suiyobi are the Japanese translations of Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.

3. Are you aware of the Japanese translation of Thursday? Well, Mokuyobi is the Japanese version of Thursday.

4. Friday and Saturday are said as Kinyobi and Doyobi respectively in Japanese.

5. The translation of Sunday in Japanese is nichiyobi.

6. Like in English, all the names of the days end with the word 'days'. Similarly, in Japanese, there is a specific pattern to end the names of the week with the word 'yobi'.

Image Source: Google

Do you know what the people of the Japanese say today, yesterday, and tomorrow?

For the word 'today, Japanese people say 'Kyo'. 'Kino' is the Japanese translation of 'Yesterday'. While 'Ashita' is the Japanese translation of 'tomorrow'.

So we have tried to give you knowledge about some basic Japanese translations that can help you deal with Japanese people.