Palabra Lexi · common words in Spanish

How to say "yesterday" in Spanish

"Yesterday" in Spanish is ayer, pronounced ah-YEHR (stress on the syllable in capitals).

Pronunciation is spelled out in English, one syllable at a time, with the stressed syllable in capitals. The speaker button uses your browser's built-in Spanish voice.

How to pronounce ayer

Ayer is pronounced ah-YEHR, in IPA /aˈʝeɾ/. Ayer has two syllables, ah-YEHR, with the stress on the second. There is no written accent because the word follows the basic rule: words ending in a consonant other than -n or -s are stressed on the last syllable.

Listen: normal and slow speed, in your browser's Spanish voice. IPA: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Example sentences

Ayer fue mi cumpleaños
Yesterday was my birthday

Ayer fue un buen día.
Yesterday was a good day.

Ayer llovió
it rained yesterday

"Yesterday" in Spain and Latin America

Regional words and roots: Diccionario de la lengua española (RAE). Spanish varies by region, so treat these as the most common patterns, not strict rules.

How to remember ayer

ayer [ah-YEHR] sounds like the English “a year”. Picture this:

Yesterday feels like a year ago: the photo is already sepia at the corners.

A sound-alike plus a vivid scene is the keyword method, a well-studied way to learn vocabulary. How it works.

Practice ayer

Two quick games, right here: no sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere.

Word web: ayer

Words that live next to ayer in the Palabra word web, each with its own English sound-alike and scene. Learning them together makes each one easier to recall.