yesterday

/ˈjɛstədeɪ/

//ˈjɛstədeɪ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"yesterday" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“yesterday” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,325. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,325
frequency rank, English
366
“Y” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The day immediately before today; one day ago.

Corpus desk

Index EN-yesterday · yesterday · English

yesterday · rank #1,325 · 14 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,325
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 366
  • PHOTO-FINISH touch

Nearest frequency peer: touch (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “yesterday”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “yesterday” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

yesterday vs yesterdays
90% similar
yesterday vs yesterday's
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for yesterday
PropertyValue
Headwordyesterday
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈjɛstədeɪ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#1,325
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “yesterday”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).yesterdaylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “touch” (#1,324), “caught” (#1,326), “thus” (#1,323). Among 366 “Y” headwords, “yesterday” is #1,325. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around yesterday (IPA /ˈjɛstədeɪ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,325 among 366 “Y” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for yesterday, with forms such as "eysterday", "yesetrday", and "yessterday". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "yesterdays", "yesterday's", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English yesterday, yisterday, ȝesterdai, ȝisterdai, from Old English ġiestrandæġ, ġister dæġ, ġestor dæġ, ġeostran dæġ (“yesterday”), by surface analysis, yester- + day. Cognate with Scots yisterday, yesterday (“yesterday”), Saterland Frisian jä… The correct English form is yesterday, spelled Y-E-S-T-E-R-D-A-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The day immediately before today; one day ago.
  2. 2
    The past, often in terms of being outdated.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how yesterday appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Today is the child of yesterday and the parent of tomorrow.
  2. Yesterday was rainy, but by this morning it had begun to snow.

Etymology

From Middle English yesterday, yisterday, ȝesterdai, ȝisterdai, from Old English ġiestrandæġ, ġister dæġ, ġestor dæġ, ġeostran dæġ (“yesterday”), by surface analysis, yester- + day. Cognate with Scots yisterday, yesterday (“yesterday”), Saterland Frisian jässendeeg, järsendeges (“yesterday”, adverb), West Frisian justerdei (“yesterday”), Dutch gisterdag (“yesterday”), dialectal German gestertag (“yesterday”), Swedish gårdag (“yesterday”), Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍂𐌰𐌳𐌰𐌲𐌹𐍃 (gistradagis, “tomorrow”, adverb). Compare further Dutch gisteren (“yesterday”), German gestern (“yesterday”).

This word in other languages

ayer(Español)hier(Français)gestern(Deutsch)ontem(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eysterday
  • yesetrday
  • yessterday
  • yestedray
  • yesterady
  • yesterdayy
  • yesterdday
  • yesterdya
  • yesterrday
  • yestreday
  • yestterday
  • yetserday
  • yseterday
  • yyesterday

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of yesterday - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

eysterday2yesetrday2yessterday1yestedray2yesterady2yesterdayy1yesterdday1yesterdya2
Edit distance from "yesterday"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "yesterday"?
"yesterday" is spelled Y-E-S-T-E-R-D-A-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈjɛstədeɪ/.
What does "yesterday" mean?
As a noun, "yesterday" means: The day immediately before today; one day ago.
What words are commonly confused with "yesterday"?
"yesterday" is commonly confused with "yesterdays", "yesterday's". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "yesterday"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "yesterday" is /ˈjɛstədeɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "yesterday"?
From Middle English yesterday, yisterday, ȝesterdai, ȝisterdai, from Old English ġiestrandæġ, ġister dæġ, ġestor dæġ, ġeostran dæġ (“yesterday”), by surface analysis, yester- + day. Cognate with Scots yisterday, yesterday (“yesterday”), Saterland ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "yesterday", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

resources#1,317necessary#1,315literally#1,311increased#1,308

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

activities14 variantsdirection14 variantsAustralian14 variantsinsurance14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list