This guide covers the core Spanish time words in a table of examples, then takes hoy, mañana and ayer one at a time, adds the day before yesterday and the day after tomorrow, and shows how to combine them with parts of the day. Learning them makes it possible to say when something happened, make plans and describe routines without reaching for complicated vocabulary.
These Spanish time words are short, common, and relatively easy to remember. Learning the core terms makes it easier to combine them with parts of the day and other expressions to make more precise statements.
How do you say today, tomorrow, and yesterday in Spanish?
Today, tomorrow, and yesterday are hoy, mañana, and ayer in Spanish. Below is a table with some useful time words in Spanish:
| English | Spanish | Example |
| Today | Hoy | Hoy trabajo: I work today |
| Tomorrow | Mañana | Mañana trabajo: I work tomorrow |
| Yesterday | Ayer | Ayer trabajé: I worked yesterday |
| The day before yesterday | Anteayer | Anteayer trabajé: I worked the day before yesterday |
| The day after tomorrow | Pasado mañana | Pasado mañana viajo: I'm travelling the day after tomorrow |
| Now | Ahora | Ahora estoy ocupado: I'm busy now |
| Later | Después / luego | Hablamos después: We'll talk later |
| Before | Antes | Lo hice antes: I did it before |
Words such as hoy, ayer, anteayer, ahora, mañana, antes, and después are classified as adverbs of time by the Real Academia Española.
How do you say today in Spanish?
Today is hoy in Spanish. It refers to the present day and can be used in different sections of a sentence, such as:
- Hoy es lunes: today is Monday
- Trabajo hoy: I work today
- ¿Qué haces hoy? What are you doing today?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, today translates to hoy and hoy en día translates to nowadays or in the present day. For instance, learners can say “Hoy en día, muchas personas trabajan desde casa”, which means “Nowadays, many people work from home.”
This is an important distinction for learners to remember because hoy refers to the current day, while hoy en día refers to the current circumstances.
How do you say tomorrow in Spanish?
The Spanish word for tomorrow is mañana. Some examples of how to use the word in a sentence include the following:
- Te llamo mañana: I’ll call you tomorrow
- Mañana tengo una reunión: I have a meeting tomorrow
- ¿Vienes mañana? Are you coming tomorrow?
However, mañana can also stand for morning, depending on how it is used in the sentence. Learning apps like Memrise provide different contexts to help learners understand how to use the word effectively. For instance, mañana trabajo means I work tomorrow, while trabajo por la mañana means I work in the morning.
This double meaning is worth learning early because the time word mañana appears frequently in everyday Spanish.
How do you say yesterday in Spanish?
Yesterday is ayer in Spanish. Examples within a sentence include the following:
- Ayer fui al cine: I went to the cinema yesterday
- Ayer hacía mucho calor: It was very hot yesterday
- ¿Qué hiciste ayer? What did you do yesterday?
Ayer, unlike mañana, has only one ordinary, everyday meaning. This time word, therefore, has less ambiguity when used by learners in a sentence.
What are the Spanish words for the day before yesterday and the day after tomorrow?
Once you learn yesterday (ayer) and tomorrow (mañana), the other two useful extensions are the day before yesterday (anteayer) and the day after tomorrow (pasado mañana).
- Anteayer llegué a Madrid: I arrived in Madrid the day before yesterday
- Pasado mañana tenemos un examen: We have an exam the day after tomorrow
These Spanish expressions of time allow learners to describe recent and upcoming events without specifying an exact date. Here are examples of how you can combine them with parts of the day:
- Ayer por la mañana: Yesterday morning
- Ayer por la tarde: Yesterday afternoon
- Mañana por la noche: Tomorrow night
- Pasado mañana por la mañana: The morning of the day after tomorrow
What other Spanish time words should I know?
Once a learner is familiar with hoy, mañana, and ayer, they can start adding other Spanish time words to their vocabulary. The most useful of these include the following:
- Ahora: Now
- Antes: Before/earlier
- Luego: Later/then
- Después: After/afterwards/later
- Siempre: Always
- Nunca: Never
When learning these time words, it is important to use language-learning apps that include examples with sentences. Memrise helps users understand how these words function by combining vocabulary with videos of native speakers. This allows learners to know how words work in real life rather than memorising isolated translations.
Frequently asked questions
What is now in Spanish?
Now is ahora in Spanish, and it is used to describe something happening at the present moment. For example, ahora estoy ocupado translates to I’m busy now. It can equally appear alongside other time expressions to establish when an action happens.
What does pasado mañana mean in Spanish?
The word pasado mañana translates to the day after tomorrow in English. It is a common way to refer to a specific day in the near future without giving an exact calendar date. For instance, pasado mañana tengo una cita means I have an appointment the day after tomorrow.
What does mañana mean in Spanish?
Mañana has two common meanings in Spanish, depending on the context: tomorrow and morning. For example, mañana trabajo means I work tomorrow, while trabajo por la mañana means I work in the morning. Learners should consider the context and the surrounding words to know its exact meaning in a sentence.
What is today in Spanish?
The word for today in Spanish is hoy. For instance, hoy trabajo translates to I work today, while ¿qué haces hoy? means what are you doing today? However, learners should know that hoy en día has a broader meaning and refers to nowadays or these days.
