01
letztens
recently
A short time ago; the other day. It refers to an unspecified point in the recent past.
example
Ich habe ihn letztens zufällig in der Stadt getroffen.
I ran into him by chance in town recently.
letztens
recently
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Meanings
Usage tips
Sentence position
'Letztens' is an adverb of time and often appears at the beginning of the sentence (position 1). In this case, the verb follows directly after it, before the subject (inversion).
EXAMPLE
Letztens habe ich einen sehr interessanten Dokumentarfilm gesehen.
Recently, I watched a very interesting documentary.
Word structure
The word is derived from the adjective 'letzt' (last) and ends in '-ens', similar to other adverbs (e.g. 'bestens' (very well), 'spätestens' (at the latest)). It describes an unspecified point in the recent past.
EXAMPLE
Ich habe das Buch gelesen, das du mir letztens empfohlen hast.
I read the book that you recommended to me recently.
Colloquial use
'Letztens' is very commonly used in spoken language and informal texts to talk about an event in the recent past.
EXAMPLE
Weißt du noch, was wir letztens besprochen haben?
Do you remember what we discussed the other day?
Compare with
letztens vs gestern
yesterday
'gestern' and 'letztens' both talk about the past. But 'gestern' is specific: it means the day directly before today. 'letztens' is less specific and only means that something happened a short time ago. That may have been yesterday, but it may also have been a few days or weeks ago. Learners may confuse the words because both often appear in stories about past events. If the exact day is important, use 'gestern'. If the time is not so important or is not known exactly, 'letztens' fits better.
letztens
Letztens hat Hannah mir vor dem Termin von dem neuen Projekt erzählt.
Recently, Hannah told me about the new project before the appointment.
gestern
Gestern habe ich den ganzen Vormittag im Büro gearbeitet.
Yesterday I worked in the office all morning.
In real life
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