prefix / bound morpheme HSK 2
yesterday · past · former
Meaning
昨 is a bound morpheme that means 'yesterday' or 'past.' It rarely appears alone in modern Mandarin and almost always combines with other characters to form time-related words. The most common compound is 昨天 (zuótiān, 'yesterday').
Usage
In contemporary spoken and written Chinese, 昨 is virtually never used by itself. It functions as a prefix in time expressions like 昨天 (yesterday), 昨晚 (last night), 昨日 (yesterday, literary), and 昨年 (last year, literary). Native speakers always attach it to another morpheme to create complete words.
Examples
- 01我昨天去了图书馆。.I went to the library yesterday.
- 02昨晚的电影很好看。.Last night's movie was very good.
Common collocations
- 昨天yesterday
- 昨晚last night
- 昨日yesterday
- 昨年last year
Antonyms
Origin
The character 昨 combines the radical 日 (sun, day) with the phonetic component 乍, suggesting the day that has just passed.