anoche
/aˈnot͡ʃe/
In Spanish, the English phrase 'last night' is translated as anoche. Wiktionary also lists ayer por la noche.
Meaning: previous evening or night (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| anoche | /aˈnot͡ʃe/ |
| ayer por la noche | /aʝeɾ poɾ la not͡ʃe/ (from spelling rules) |
Both anoche and ayer por la noche are used interchangeably in most contexts to refer to the previous evening or night, or to describe something that occurred during the night before today.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase ayer por la noche literally translates to 'yesterday during the night'.
Which one should you use?
Anoche is a single word used to mean 'last night', whereas ayer por la noche is a more descriptive phrase.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
/aˈnotʃe/
Did you know?
- The word ayer shares a distant Proto-Indo-European ancestor with the English word 'yesterday', showing a linguistic link that spans thousands of years.
- While English uses 'last night', Spanish speakers sometimes use anoche to refer to the night that has just passed, even if they are technically speaking during the very early hours of the same calendar day.
Examples in context
- Anoche vi a Tom.I saw Tom last night.This sentence shows how to use anoche to state whom you saw.Tatoeba #2444823 by Shishir, translation #2406146 by CK
- Anoche leí el libro.I read the book last night.This sentence demonstrates using anoche to describe an action like reading.Tatoeba #1508163 by marcelostockle, translation #746406 by Zifre
- Siento lo de anoche.I'm sorry about last night.This sentence illustrates how to use anoche when apologizing for something that happened.Tatoeba #2045416 by Shishir, translation #1671759 by Spamster
- La reunión se llevó a cabo anocheThe meeting took place last night
- Recibí su mensaje ayer por la nocheI received your message last night
- Vimos una película genial anocheWe watched a great movie last night
- Cené con mi familia anoche.I had dinner with my family last night.
- Ayer por la noche salimos a bailar.Last night, we went out dancing.
- 521 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are talking in a cafe about a party.
- Mateo¿Fuiste a la fiesta anoche?Did you go to the party last night?
- SofíaNo, anoche me quedé en casa.No, last night I stayed at home.
- MateoQué lástima, fue muy divertida.What a shame, it was very fun.
- SofíaMe lo perdí por estar cansada.I missed it because I was tired.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “last night” translations and entries anoche, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries anoche, ayer, la, noche, por, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
