Quick Reference

Meaning & Definition

去年 (kyonen) is the everyday Japanese word for ‘last year’ — a short, punchy time expression that JLPT learners encounter early and use constantly when talking about past events, memories, and changes.

去年 means ‘last year’ and functions both as a noun and as a temporal adverb that modifies an entire clause. Unlike English ‘last year,’ which requires no particle, 去年 follows the same rules: you can say 去年行った (kyonen itta, went last year) or 去年のこと (kyonen no koto, things from last year) with the possessive の. The formal and written equivalent is 昨年 (sakunen), which appears in news articles, business letters, and official documents, while 去年 is standard in everyday spoken Japanese. Both forms are correct; choosing between them is a matter of register rather than meaning.

How to Use It

Learners often mix up the time-word trio: 去年 (kyonen, last year) — 今年 (kotoshi, this year) — 来年 (rainen, next year). Note that 今年 uses a different reading for 今 (kotoshi, not ima-toshi), so it’s worth memorizing as a set. In casual conversation, adding だ or でした after 去年 in isolation sounds unnatural — instead pair it directly with a verb: 去年行きました (kyonen ikimashita, I went last year).

Kanji Breakdown

去年 is built from two kanji: 去 (go, leave, past) and 年 (nen/toshi, year). The character 去 shows something departing — a person stepping over a threshold — making the compound literally ‘the year that departed.’ This same 去 appears in 去る (saru, to leave/pass) and 過去 (kako, the past). 年 is one of the most common kanji in Japanese, appearing in 来年 (rainen, next year), 今年 (kotoshi, this year), and 毎年 (maitoshi/mainen, every year).

Example Sentences

Cultural Context

The Japanese sense of cyclical time makes 去年 (last year) a particularly resonant word in contexts tied to seasonal traditions. New Year (お正月, oshougatsu) is the most important marker of the year’s turning, and conversations around January frequently contrast 去年 and 今年 — reflecting on what changed and what goals to set. This annual reckoning makes 去年 one of the most naturally occurring temporal words in real-world Japanese speech at the start of each year.

In Japanese media and literature, 去年 often signals nostalgia. Songs, dramas, and novels use phrases like 去年の今日 (kyonen no kyou, this same day last year) to evoke longing for a past moment. The phrase captures the Japanese aesthetic concept of 物の哀れ (mono no aware) — the poignant awareness of time’s passage — making 去年 more than just a calendar marker. It carries an emotional weight that a bare English translation of ‘last year’ may not fully convey.

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