previous year
Loading your saved state.
previous year
The year that comes immediately before the current year or a specified year.
Die Firma konnte ihren Gewinn im Vergleich zum Vorjahr deutlich steigern.
The company was able to significantly increase its profit compared with the previous year.
The word is made up of the preposition 'vor' (before) and the noun 'Jahr' (year). So it literally means the 'year before.' This pattern is also found in 'Vortag' (previous day), 'Vormonat' (previous month), and 'Vorwoche' (previous week).
Die Zahlen sind besser als am Vortag.
The numbers are better than on the previous day.
'Vorjahr' (previous year) is very often used as a time expression with the preposition 'im' (in). The fixed phrase 'im Vergleich zum Vorjahr' (compared with the previous year) is especially common in economic or statistical contexts.
Im Vorjahr war der Winter deutlich kälter.
In the previous year, the winter was significantly colder.
The word is often used together with numbers and economic terms. Typical verbs are 'steigen' (to rise), 'sinken' (to fall), 'wachsen' (to grow), or 'zurückgehen' (to decline), often in relation to 'Umsatz' (revenue), 'Gewinn' (profit), or 'Exporte' (exports).
Der Umsatz des Unternehmens ist gegenüber dem Vorjahr um fünf Prozent gestiegen.
The company's revenue rose by five percent compared with the previous year.
