去年

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 去年日本に行きました。▶ —
   I went to Japan last year.
2. 去年の冬は寒かったです。▶ —
   Last winter was cold.

Collocations

Mnemonic

去年 kyonen — 去 (to go away) + 年 (year): literally "the year that went." The same 去 lives as a verb too — 立ち去る (to walk away), 過去 (the past). Formal and written contexts choose 昨年; conversation chooses 去年 — a parting of register. Where Korean keeps only the single form jaknyeon, Japanese sets two forms side by side. Kanji-reading kin: 去 reads Korean 'geo' (過去), Mandarin qù.

Quick check

1. In a company report, "last year's sales" — which Japanese word?

   • 昨年 sakunen (formal, written)
   • 去年 kyonen (conversational)
   • 一昨年 ototoshi (year before last)
   • 前年 zennen (the previous year — different framing)