Use “yesterday” for 昨天. Past time is conveyed by this token; the action token remains in base form.
Learn This Word
- Included in: Common 100 Words · Lesson 2 Open Lesson Start Study
yesterday
昨天
The day immediately before today.
Standard Mapping
- Chinese
- 昨天
- Pinyin
- zuó tiān
- Meaning
- 今天之前的一天
- Note
- Previous-day time expression.
Meaning and Usage
Mapping Boundary
Correct Mapping
Yesterday I buy phone → 昨天我买手机。
Incorrect Mapping or Split
Yesterday I bought phone as the canonical token sequence
Reason
The time word carries past reference; buy remains canonical.