“What day was it yesterday?” is correct English, but it is a little long, and it can sound stiff if you use the same words every time. Having a few other ways to ask helps you sound natural with friends, polite with a manager, and clear when you actually need a date for a form or a record. The right choice depends on one thing most lists skip: whether you want the day of the week or the date.
The quick answer
If you just want a few safe options, these work almost anywhere:
- What was yesterday? – short, casual, and the most common in everyday speech.
- Yesterday was Tuesday, right? – best when you think you know and only want to check.
- What was yesterday’s date? – use this when you need the number, not the weekday.
- Do you know what day yesterday was? – a softer, more polite version for people you don’t know well.
The full list of 33 below is grouped by situation, with notes on tone and the small grammar traps that catch learners.
First, decide: do you mean the day or the date?
In English, “day” usually points to the weekday (Monday, Tuesday), while “date” points to the number in the month (the 5th, October 5). If you ask “What day was it yesterday?” most people will answer with a weekday. If you needed “October 5” for a form, you may have to ask twice.
| You want… | Ask | Likely answer |
| The weekday | What day was yesterday? | “Monday.” |
| The number | What was yesterday’s date? | “The 5th.” |
| Both | What day and date was yesterday? | “Monday the 5th.” |
In casual speech the line blurs, and some people will answer “day” with a date. When the answer matters, ask for exactly what you need.
33 other ways to ask what day it was yesterday
Casual, everyday questions
Use these with friends, family, classmates, and in text messages.
1. What was yesterday?
The shortest natural version. In conversation, people understand you mean the weekday. “What was yesterday? I need to know if I missed trash day.”
2. What day was yesterday?
Drops the “it” from the original and sounds a bit lighter. Both versions are correct.
3. What day was yesterday again?
The word again tells the listener you knew this a moment ago and slipped. It sounds relaxed and a little self-aware, which makes it one of the friendliest options.
4. Wait, what was yesterday?
Good when the question pops up in the middle of something else, such as planning or retelling a story. “Wait, what was yesterday? Because the package said two days.”
5. Remind me, what was yesterday?
Friendly and natural with people you see often. With a stranger it can sound a little too familiar.
6. Which day was yesterday?
Correct, but slightly less common than “what day” in casual speech. “Which” fits better when you’re choosing between a few options, as in #11.
7. I’ve completely lost track. What day was yesterday?
Adding the reason makes the question feel less odd, especially to someone you don’t know well.
8. What even was yesterday?
Careful with this one. It often isn’t a real question. People say it after a chaotic or strange day, meaning “yesterday was a blur.” If you actually need the answer, pick another option.
When you want to check a guess
These are often the most natural choice, because most people roughly know the day and only want to confirm it.
9. Yesterday was Thursday, right?
Statement plus right? is extremely common in speech and texts. You can swap right? for wasn’t it? for a slightly softer feel.
10. Was yesterday Monday?
A plain yes/no question. Quick and neutral.
11. Was yesterday Tuesday or Wednesday?
Useful when you’ve narrowed it to two. The listener only has to pick one.
12. So if today’s Friday, yesterday was Thursday?
Thinking out loud. Handy when you’re unsure about today as well.
13. Just to double-check, yesterday was the 14th?
Works in both casual and work settings because just to double-check signals care rather than confusion.
When you need the date, not the weekday
14. What was yesterday’s date?
The clearest way to ask for the number. Good for forms, receipts, and records.
15. What was the date yesterday?
Same meaning as #14 with a slightly different rhythm. Use whichever feels easier to say.
16. What date was it yesterday?
The closest match to the original sentence, with date in place of day.
17. What day and date was yesterday?
Asks for both at once, so you get an answer like “Monday the 5th.” Useful for appointment notes or logs.
18. Yesterday was the… 8th?
A spoken, trailing question. Your voice rises at the end and the listener fills in or corrects the number.
19. What day of the month was yesterday?
Longer, but it removes any chance of getting a weekday back. Helpful for learners who mix up day and date.
Polite and indirect versions
Use these with customers, older relatives, people you’ve just met, or anyone you’d address carefully.
20. Do you know what day yesterday was?
The indirect form softens the question. Note the word order: what day yesterday was, not what day was yesterday (see the grammar section).
21. Could you tell me what day it was yesterday?
Polite and complete. Fine in person, on the phone, or in a short message.
22. Sorry, silly question, but what day was yesterday?
Admitting it’s a small thing makes it easy for the other person to answer without any awkwardness.
23. Would you mind reminding me of yesterday’s date?
Very polite, close to formal. Suits a front desk, a clinic, or an email.
24. I hate to ask, but was yesterday the 3rd or the 4th?
Warm and a little apologetic. Natural when you feel you should know, as with a deadline.
At work, school, or for records
25. Can you confirm yesterday’s date for the report?
Professional and specific. Saying what the date is for helps the other person give the right format.
26. What date should I put for yesterday’s entry?
Good for timesheets, logbooks, journals, and expense claims.
27. Was yesterday a working day?
The real question behind “what day was it” is sometimes whether it counted, after a public holiday or a long weekend.
28. Should yesterday’s order show the 9th or the 10th?
Works when a date near midnight or a weekend cutoff is unclear.
29. What day of the week was yesterday?
The most precise way to ask for the weekday. Useful on calls or in emails where a misunderstanding costs time.
When you’ve lost track (travel, holidays, illness)
30. Was yesterday the weekend?
The days are all blurring together. A natural thing to say after a holiday, a hospital stay, or a week of working from home.
31. What day was it yesterday back home?
For travelers. When you cross time zones, “yesterday” where you are and “yesterday” back home can be different dates, so naming the place avoids confusion.
32. What day is it today?
Not strictly the same question, but often the easier one. Once you know today, yesterday is simple, and people answer “today” faster.
33. If today is Wednesday, what day was yesterday?
A teaching version. Teachers often use it in morning calendar routines with young children and beginner English classes, alongside “Today is… / Yesterday was… / Tomorrow will be…”
Grammar notes and common mistakes
Most errors with this question come from word order and tense. Here are the ones English learners run into most.
| Avoid | Say instead | Why |
| What day it was yesterday? | What day was it yesterday? | A direct question puts the verb before the subject. |
| Do you know what day was it yesterday? | Do you know what day it was yesterday? | Inside a longer question, the order goes back to normal: subject, then verb. |
| What is the date of yesterday? | What was yesterday’s date? | Understandable, but not how fluent speakers phrase it. |
| What happened on yesterday? | What happened yesterday? | Yesterday, today, and tomorrow don’t take on. |
| Yesterday was monday. | Yesterday was Monday. | Days of the week are always capitalized in English. |
“Is” or “was”? You may hear “What day is yesterday?” in some classrooms or casual speech. Most speakers say was, because yesterday is in the past, and was is the safer choice in writing.
Reporting the question later. When you tell someone what was asked, yesterday often becomes the day before: “She asked me what day it had been the day before.” In relaxed speech, people often keep it simple: “She asked what day it was yesterday.”
How to answer when someone asks you
A short answer is normal. Full sentences can sound oddly formal for such a small question.
- Weekday only: “Monday.” / “It was Monday.” / “Yesterday was Monday.”
- Date only: “The 5th.” / “It was the 5th.”
- Both: “Monday the 5th.” / “Monday, October 5th.”
- Correcting a guess: “No, it was Tuesday.” / “Close, it was the 6th.”
- When you’re not sure either: “I think it was Sunday, but don’t quote me.”
Saying dates out loud. Written dates and spoken dates often differ. You might write October 5 or 5 October and say “October fifth” or “the fifth of October.” Both spoken forms are understood everywhere English is spoken. Written order varies by country and organization, so on forms, follow the format the form asks for.
Questions people often have
Is “What day was it yesterday?” correct English?
Yes. It is grammatical and natural. It’s just longer than most people need in casual speech, where “What was yesterday?” does the same job.
Is it rude to ask a coworker or stranger?
No. It’s an ordinary question. If you’d like to soften it, add a reason or a small apology: “Sorry, I’ve lost track. Was yesterday the 4th?”
What’s the best way to ask in a text?
Short and checkable: “yesterday was tues right?” or “what was yesterday’s date?” Abbreviating weekday names is common in casual texts, not in work emails.
Why did I get a weekday when I needed the date?
Because day usually means the weekday. Ask “What was yesterday’s date?” when you need the number.
How do I ask about the day before yesterday?
Same patterns, longer phrase: “What day was the day before yesterday?” or “Was the day before yesterday Sunday?” Many people just count back from today instead.
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