Tomorrow in Japanese: ashita or asu, explained in detail

How to say “tomorrow” in Japanese

Japanese native speakers would say “ashita”. It is the Japanese word for ‘tomorrow’. In this blog post, I will explain “ashita” meaning in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain its heteronym, “asu”, which would be confusing to Japanese learners. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “ashita”
• Kanji characters used in “ashita”
• Example #1: how to say “tomorrow” in Japanese
• Definition and meaning of “asu”
• Example #2: how does “asu” sound different?
• Definition and meaning of “mata ashita”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “ashita”

First of all, let me start with the definition and meaning of “ashita”.

• ashita – 明日 (あした) : a noun meaning ‘tomorrow’ in Japanese.

From the grammatical point of view, it is a noun. But, in reality, it is quite often used as an adverb and inserted almost anywhere in a sentence to mean ‘tomorrow’. In the Japanese language, many time-related nouns can be used as adverbs. This kind of trait of time-related nouns can also be found in other languages like English. Actually, the English word, “tomorrow”, can be used as both a noun and an adverb. In this regard, “ashita” is quite similar to “tomorrow”. So, those who are familiar with English can easily understand “ashita” and how to use it, I think.

Its meaning is very simple. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

Kanji characters used in “ashita”

Below are the kanji characters used in “ashita”.

• 明 – a kanji character used to mean ‘bright’ or ‘light’. In addition, it can also be used to mean ‘to begin’ or ‘to end’. It can also be found in words like “yoake“.
• 日 – a kanji character widely used to mean ‘day’ or ‘daytime’. It can also be found in words like “tanjoubi” and “mikazuki“.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “ashita” literally means the beginning of a day. It seems to be a bit different from what “ashita” means. But, this concept formed by the kanji is completely in line with an old meaning of “ashita”. In the past, in other words, in the old Japanese language, “ashita” was used to mean ‘morning’. This means, its meaning had changed as time went on. Then, today, it is used only to mean ‘tomorrow’.

In short, the kanji expression of “ashita” isn’t in line with what it actually means. But, its kanji are deeply linked to its old meaning. Sometimes, this kind of update can happen to meanings of Japanese words. So, when we cannot find out any relation between meanings of words and their kanji expressions, checking their old meanings would be fruitful.

Then, let me explain how to use “ashita” through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “tomorrow” in Japanese

Below are new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is put after the pronoun, “watashi”, to make the subject word in the sentence.
• kyoto – 京都 (きょうと) : a name of one of the most famous and popular Japanese cities. It is a noun.
• ni – に : a case particle used to indicate a particular place to which someone or something goes. In the example, it is put after “Kyoto” to indicate the particular place to which “watashi” will go.
• iki – 行き (いき) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku”, which means ‘to go’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for a better connection with its following word.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb put after a verb or auxiliary verb to make it polite. Perhaps, it is well known for a part of Japanese masu form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “iki”, to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “ashita”. In this example, it is used as an adverb and means ‘tomorrow’. As the translation shows, its usage is quite similar to that of the English adverb, “tomorrow”.

When “ashita” isn’t followed by a particle, most probably it is used as an adverb. When it is followed by a particle like “wa”, it would be a noun. So, whether it is followed by a particle or not can be used as a hint to understand its grammatical definition. In Japanese conversations, however, Japanese native speakers quite often omit particles which don’t have a big impact on meaning. And usually, a particle following “ashita” doesn’t have an effect on its meaning. This means, native speakers tend to use “ashita” as an adverb unconsciously. So, Japanese learners should focus only on its usage as an adverb first, I think. “Ashita” would still sound very natural even without any particle.

“Ashita” and its heteronym, “asu”, may sometimes be confused. So, let me explain “asu” next.

Definition and meaning of “asu”

Below are the definition and meaning of “asu”.

• asu – 明日 (あす) : a noun meaning ‘tomorrow’ in Japanese. It has the same kanji expression and meaning as “ashita” but a different pronunciation.

Basically, “asu” sounds much more polite than the other one. So, Japanese native speakers tend to use it in formal situations. On the other hand, in casual situations, they use “ashita” much more often. The difference between “ashita” and “asu” is a degree of politeness. So, we need to use them properly depending on the situation.

The last example sentence above can be paraphrased with “asu” as follows.

Example #2: how does “asu” sound different?

It has the same meaning as the last one. But, it sounds more polite and formal. So, this pronunciation is more suitable for formal situations.

So far, I’ve explained “ashita” and its heteronym, “asu”. Then, let me explain a related expression which is used to say “see you tomorrow” in Japanese.

Definition and meaning of “mata ashita”

Below are the definition and meaning of “mata ashita”.

• mata ashita – また明日 (またあした) : a Japanese expression for ‘see you tomorrow’.

Japanese native speakers quite often use it as a greeting to say “see you tomorrow” in Japanese. Perhaps, another greeting, “sayounara” (or “sayonara”), is more famous among Japanese learners. But, “sayounara” sounds way too much formal and serious. So, Japanese native speakers normally use “mata ashita”.

I’ve already explained “ashita”, so here, let me explain its former part: “mata”.

• mata – また : an adverb widely used to mean ‘again’ or ‘once more’ in Japanese. Depending on context, it can also mean ‘too’, ‘also’ or ‘as well’.

So, “mata ashita” literally means ‘again tomorrow’. It can be understood as ‘see you tomorrow’, I think. The concept formed by its components, at least, is not so far from what the expression means.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the meaning of “ashita” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained its heteronym and its related greeting. Let me summarize them as follows.

• ashita – 明日 (あした) : a noun meaning ‘tomorrow’ in Japanese.
• asu – 明日 (あす) : a heteronym of “ashita”. It sounds much more polite than “ashita”. So, it would be more suitable for formal situations.
• mata ashita – また明日 (またあした) : a Japanese expression for ‘see you tomorrow’. Japanese native speakers normally use it to say “see you tomorrow” in Japanese because “sayounara” (or “sayonara”) sounds way too much polite and serious.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.