how to say “the day before yesterday” in Hebrew

 

שִׁלְשׁוֹם
 

 

 
Today, in Hebrew, is הַיּוֹם   .
 
Yesterday is אֶתְמוֹל   .
 
And two days ago? That’s שִׁלְשׁוֹם   .
 
For example:
 
דִּבַּרְתִּי אִתּוֹ שִׁלְשׁוֹם.
I spoke with him the day before yesterday.
 
 
The modern usage of שלשום as the day before yesterday derives from the Biblical-Hebrew expression כִּתְמוֹל שִׁלְשׁוֹם    as of yore or as things used to be. Nobel Laureate Shmuel Yosef Agnon entitles one of his novels with this phrase.
 
The word שלשום itself has שָׁלֹשׁ    three – as its root, since what occurred שלשום goes back three days if today is included in the count.

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