Lesson 42 · about 5 minutes

Now, today, tomorrow, yesterday

ima · kyou · ashita · kinou

いま・きょう・あした・きのう

You'll learn four time words that pin a line to now, today, tomorrow, or yesterday.

The words

RomajiJapaneseReadingMeaning
imaいまいまnow
kyouきょうきょうtoday
ashitaあしたあしたtomorrow
kinouきのうきのうyesterday

How they differ

Drop these near the verb (or at the start) to set when:

「いま いきます。」(ima ikimasu): I'm going now.

「きょう たべます。」(kyou tabemasu): I'll eat today.

「あした きます。」(ashita kimasu): I'll come tomorrow.

「きのう いきました。」(kinou ikimashita): I went yesterday.

Pair with what you already know:

Future-ish plans → often ます + あした / きょう

Finished actions → ました + きのう

No extra particle needed on these four in basic lines.

Timeline: now · today · tomorrow · yesterday. いま = this moment, きょう = this day, あした = next day, きのう = last day.

One line: いま・きょう・あした・きのう.

Next: Clock survival for trains: 〜じ / はん (~ ji / han) — o'clock and half past.

See it in a sentence

  1. ima ikimasu

    いま いきます。

    I'm going now. (polite)

  2. kyou wa ii desu

    きょう は いい です。

    Today is good. / Today's fine. (polite)

  3. ashita kimasu

    あした きます。

    I'll come tomorrow. (polite)

  4. kinou tabemashita

    きのう たべました。

    I ate yesterday. (polite)

  5. ima doko desu ka?

    いま どこ ですか?

    Where are you now? (polite)

Watch out

いま (ima) = now (this moment) / きょう (kyou) = today (this day) あした (ashita) = tomorrow / きのう (kinou) = yesterday いつ (itsu) = when? (question) — these four are answers, not the question word

Try it

  1. In your next story, find いま, きょう, あした, or きのう. Say the line out loud and point to when it happens on a tiny timeline (now / today / tomorrow / yesterday).

    Check against the lesson cluster and say it out loud.