The past — but a particular flavour of past: the days of long ago, remembered fondly.

The past過去 — but a particular flavour of past不過是特定味道的過去：the days of long ago很久以前的日子，remembered fondly帶著懷念記著。

It is a noun, though you will most often meet it doing an adjective's job in the phrase 'of yesteryear': the stars of yesteryear, the trains of yesteryear, a Taipei of yesteryear. That is the shape to learn, because the bare noun on its own ('yesteryear was better') sounds odd to modern ears.

It is a noun它是名詞，though you will most often meet it doing an adjective's job in the phrase 'of yesteryear'不過你最常看到它在「of yesteryear」這個片語裡扮演形容詞的角色：the stars of yesteryear當年的明星，the trains of yesteryear當年的火車，a Taipei of yesteryear當年的台北。That is the shape to learn這是要學的用法，because the bare noun on its own ('yesteryear was better') sounds odd to modern ears因為單獨用這個名詞（像「yesteryear was better」）現代人聽起來會覺得怪。

Two things govern how it feels. First, it is warm: it does not just mean 'earlier', it means earlier and gone and missed — you would not write 'the wars of yesteryear', because the word carries affection. Second, it is literary and a little old-fashioned itself, which is part of the joke when journalists reach for it in headlines about old cars, old films and old sweets.

Two things govern how it feels有兩件事決定它給人的感覺。First, it is warm第一，它是溫暖的：it does not just mean 'earlier'它不只是「比較早」的意思，it means earlier and gone and missed而是「比較早、已經過去、而且被想念」 — you would not write 'the wars of yesteryear'你不會寫「the wars of yesteryear」，because the word carries affection因為這個字帶著情感。Second, it is literary and a little old-fashioned itself第二，它本身就是文學性、有點老派的字，which is part of the joke when journalists reach for it in headlines about old cars, old films and old sweets這也是記者在講舊車、舊電影、舊糖果的標題裡愛用它的部分樂趣所在。

In ordinary speech people say 'the old days', 'back in the day', or 'years ago'.

In ordinary speech在日常口語裡 people say 'the old days', 'back in the day', or 'years ago'人們會說「the old days」、「back in the day」或「years ago」。

The word is not old folk speech, oddly enough; Dante Gabriel Rossetti seems to have made it in 1870 to translate a French line about the snows of last year — 'où sont les neiges d'antan' — and it kept the sad, backward-looking colour of that line ever since. Note also that despite the definition line above, the word is a noun, not really an adjective; 'existing in the past' is what the phrase 'of yesteryear' does, not what the bare word is.

The word is not old folk speech, oddly enough這個字說來奇怪並不是古老的民間用語；Dante Gabriel Rossetti seems to have made it in 1870但丁·加百列·羅塞蒂似乎是在1870年造出這個字，to translate a French line about the snows of last year用來翻譯一句講「去年的雪」的法文詩句 — 'où sont les neiges d'antan'「où sont les neiges d'antan」 — and it kept the sad, backward-looking colour of that line ever since而且從那之後就一直保留著那句詩裡感傷、回望過去的色彩。Note also that despite the definition line above也要注意雖然前面的定義這樣寫，the word is a noun, not really an adjective這個字其實是名詞，不是真正的形容詞；'existing in the past' is what the phrase 'of yesteryear' does, not what the bare word is「existing in the past」是「of yesteryear」這個片語在做的事，不是這個字單獨的意思。