Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
How to Say "Last Night" in Spanish
Anoche · adverb · ah-NOH-cheh
Anoche is a single Spanish adverb meaning "last night." It is concise, universally understood, and pairs naturally with past-tense verbs. Longer alternatives like ayer por la noche exist but are less common in casual speech.
ah-NOH-cheh (three syllables, stress on the second)
Anoche dormí muy mal por culpa del ruido.
Last night I slept very badly because of the noise.
Last Night in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for last night, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| anoche | last night | ah-NOH-cheh | Default, widely understood |
| ayer por la noche | last night | more explicit, all regions | |
| ayer en la noche | last night | common in Latin America | |
| anoche por la noche | last night | redundant but sometimes heard colloquially |
How Native Speakers Use Anoche
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Recounting an event
Anoche fuimos a un concierto increíble en el centro de la ciudad.
Last night we went to an amazing concert downtown.
Anoche naturally pairs with the preterite tense (fuimos) for completed actions.
Describing a state (imperfect)
Anoche hacía mucho frío y no quería salir de casa.
Last night it was very cold and I didn't want to leave the house.
With descriptions or ongoing states, anoche can also pair with the imperfect tense.
Asking about last night
¿Qué hiciste anoche? Te llamé y no contestaste.
What did you do last night? I called you and you didn't answer.
Anoche appears naturally in questions about recent past events.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Anoche
Using present tense with anoche
Incorrect: Anoche como pizza.
Correct: Anoche comí pizza.
Anoche refers to the past, so the verb must be in a past tense—typically the preterite (comí) or imperfect (comía), never the present (como).
Confusing anoche with esta noche
Incorrect: Anoche vamos al cine. (talking about tonight)
Correct: Esta noche vamos al cine.
Anoche means 'last night' (past). Esta noche means 'tonight' (present or future). Mixing them up changes the time reference entirely.
Lock in Last Night Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
Memorizing a translation feels productive, but most learners forget 70% of what they studied within 48 hours. Vocabulary needs spaced repetition AND real-world exposure to transfer to long-term memory.
See Anoche used by native speakers
Parrot's short-form videos feature native speakers using anoche in real situations. Context-based exposure beats flashcards, you hear Anoche dormí muy mal por culpa del ruido. while watching someone live the moment, connecting meaning, sound, and rhythm at once.
Save, review, repeat, stay consistent
Tap any word to save it. Parrot's spaced-repetition system surfaces it right before you'd forget, no manual flashcard creation. The watch, parrot back, save, review cycle turns recognition into fluency at 2.7x the speed of traditional study.
Common Questions About Last Night in Spanish
- Is "anoche" one word or two?
- Anoche is one word. It functions as a single adverb meaning 'last night.' Do not write it as two words (a noche) or confuse it with the phrase ayer por la noche, which is a longer equivalent.
- What tense do you use with "anoche"?
- Anoche triggers past tenses. Use the preterite for completed actions (anoche vi una película) and the imperfect for descriptions or ongoing states (anoche llovía mucho). The present tense is never correct with anoche.
- What is the difference between "anoche" and "ayer por la noche"?
- They mean the same thing—last night. Anoche is shorter and more common in everyday speech. Ayer por la noche is more explicit and slightly more formal, sometimes used for emphasis or clarity.