Can さくじつ and きのう be used the same way? I know the terms mean yesterday. Thank you!
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Related: https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/2221/9831 See also: https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/13777/9831 / https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/18365/9831 / https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/28952/9831 – Chocolate Sep 17 '19 at 15:34
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it seems to be related to the significance of the word, maybe an important event... – Jack Bosma Sep 17 '19 at 15:43
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It depends on the context.
さくじつ and きのう both mean yesterday (and the same Kanji 昨日 is used for the words). A major difference in their usage is that さくじつ is almost always used in a formal context (written and spoken), while きのう is often used both in formal and informal contexts (written and spoken): Using さくじつ in a casual conversation seems weird. You can hear きのう not only in a casual conversation but also in the news.
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