ayer
/aˈʝeɾ/
The Spanish word for yesterday is ayer.
ayer is used as both a noun to refer to the day before today and as an adverb to describe an action that happened on that day.
Meaning: day before today (noun)
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/aˈʝeɾ/
Did you know?
- If you are talking about 'the day before yesterday' in Spanish, you do not use 'ayer' twice, but instead use the specific phrase anteayer.
- The modern spelling of ayer was once just 'yer' in Old Spanish, lacking the initial 'a' that was later added from the Latin prefix.
- The term ayer can be used metaphorically in Spanish to refer to the distant past or a previous era, as in el ayer.
Examples in context
- Ayer se lo di.I gave it to him yesterday.This sentence shows how to use ayer when talking about giving something to someone.Tatoeba #4123342 by gianich73, translation #3907303 by CH
- Ayer vi a Juan.I saw Juan yesterday.This sentence demonstrates using ayer to describe seeing a person.Tatoeba #1944016 by hayastan, translation #11354783 by magnificentgoddess
- Ayer fui al zoo.I went to the zoo yesterday.This sentence illustrates using ayer when describing a visit to a location.Tatoeba #514886 by Shishir, translation #1876 by Swift
- Ayer fui al cine.Yesterday, I went to the cinema.
- Fui al parque ayer mismo.I went to the park yesterday.
- 1273 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and María are talking about a movie.
- DanielAyer fui al cine.Yesterday I went to the cinema.
- María¿Cuál película viste, Daniel?Which movie did you see, Daniel?
- DanielVi una película de acción.I saw an action movie.
- MaríaYo también quería ir ayer.I wanted to go yesterday too.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “yesterday” translations and entries ayer, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ayer, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
