# あす／あした



## furrykef

Is there any difference between あす and あした? Is there any case where one is obligatory and the other is not possible? I have this sentence:

明日の午後、お客様が来る。

明日 was read as あす instead of あした. I _think_ あした would still be OK here, but I'm not sure.

Thoughts?

- Kef


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## wathavy

At this particular moment, I cannot pick up any distinctive difference between them.
We use either at any 'tomorrow' placed.
And as you suspected, either of the word fits to the example.

Only,say, some formal news would be aired with Asu instead of Ashita.
But it is pretty hard to say, there is any obligatory occasion for any of them. (at least to me). 

P.S.
Suspicion arises if one asks about the sound clearness. Ashita is clearer than asu due to more syllables than the counterpart.


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## Ocham

Through my own experiences I have never used あす both in speech and 
writings. あした can be used by any generation, but あす is very limited in 
its users' ages, social status, the ocassions, etc,.


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## Derselbe

Ocham said:


> Through my own experiences I have never used あす both in speech and
> writings. あした can be used by any generation, but あす is very limited in
> its users' ages, social status, the ocassions, etc,.


 
which would be ... ?


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## Flaminius

Hi,

There is at least one sense for which あす is more common than あした.  It can be the metaphor for a near future as in:
平和なあすを築くために、私たちはいま戦う。


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## Wishfull

Ocham said:


> Through my own experiences I have never used あす both in speech and
> writings. あした can be used by any generation, but あす is very limited in
> its users' ages, social status, the ocassions, etc,.


 
Hi, Ocham.
I'm interested in your comment.

I am middle aged male, and I feel あす is more formal than あした。
Writing maybe doesn't matter because both are written as 明日.
In formal speech at company's meeting or business meeting, I think I have to say あす.
In daily talk with, for example, my daughter, I never use あす.

I wonder what kind of generation, social status, etc. you are belonging to.

I live in West Japan. Location might be another cause of differences.
But I think TV news casters officially say that "あす” not "あした”, but I'm not sure....

「明日、最高裁の判決が言い渡されます。」


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## Ocham

Hi, wishful

You have explained almost everything I had wanted to say.
That's exactly what I think of あす and あした.


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## lammn

When it comes to song lyrics, it seems that they use both あした and あす for 明日.​ 
*Examples of songs where **明日** is pronounced as **あした** include:*

1. "First Love" by 宇多田ヒカル
2. 不思議色ハピネス by 小幡洋子
3. あしたがすき by 堀江美都子
4. "Candy" by 久宝留理子
5. "Get Wild" by TM Network
6. "Earth~木の上は方舟~" by PSY-S
7. "Exit" by Exile
8. ジェニーナ by 和田加奈子
9. 君を見つめて by 森口博子

*Examples of songs where 明日 is pronounced as **あす** include:*

1. "Yesterday & Today" by Do As Infinity
2. "You" by Kat-Tun
3. 情熱 by Kinki Kids
4. ランナー by 藤原誠
5. ”Dancing in the Sunshine" by 杏里
6. "No No No" by 小倉良
7. "Zero" by 幾多愛子

I think the choice between あした and あす is determined by the beats of the song (3 beats require the 3-syllable あした, while 2 beats require the 2-syllable あす).


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## lammn

(Please ignore my previous post, because I can't delete it now.)
When it comes to song lyrics, it seems that they use both あした and あす for 明日.​ 

*Examples of pronouncing **明日** as **あした** include:*​1. "First Love" by 宇多田ヒカル (あしたの今頃には...) ​2. 不思議色ハピネス by 小幡洋子 (あした見る夢は...) 
3. あしたがすき by 堀江美都子 (あしたはどこから　うまれてくるの...)
4. "Candy" by 久宝留理子 (忘れてしまうあした...)
5. "Get Wild" by TM Network (あしたにおびえていたよ...)
6. "Earth~木の上は方舟~" by PSY-S (過ぎてゆく日とあした...)
7. "Exit" by Exile (今日からあしたへ流れてる時間...)
8. ジェニーナ by 和田加奈子 (あしたを信じ切れない...)
9. 君を見つめて by 森口博子 (このままであしたを探そう...)

​*Examples of pronouncing **明日** as **あす** include:*
1. "Yesterday & Today" by Do As Infinity (過ぎ去る現実とやさしく息づくあすは...)​2. "You" by Kat-Tun (過去などいらない　あすがあるから...)
3. 情熱 by Kinki Kids (涙はいらないから　あすへ行こう...)
4. ランナー by 藤原誠 (あすの先に何があるに...) 
5. ”Dancing in the Sunshine" by 杏里 (あすにも起こるは Magical...)
6. "No No No" by 小倉良 (あすの扉は　No No No...)
7. "Zero" by 幾多愛子　(あすのゆくえ　捜して悩んでいるなら...) 

​I think the choice between あした and あす is determined by the beats of the song (3 beats require the 3-syllable あした, while 2 beats require the 2-syllable あす).


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## Flaminius

Hello,

I am aware that your list is not necessarily a statistical work but I am surprised that so many instances of あした are used metaphorically, my conviction being:


Flaminius said:


> There is at least one sense for which あす is more common than あした.  It can be the metaphor for a near future (...)


 
Metaphorical use of あした in song lyrics may be motivated by the rhythmic requirement of songs.


lammn said:


> I think the choice between あした and あす is determined by the beats of the song (3 beats require the 3-syllable あした, while 2 beats require the 2-syllable あす).


My disagreement is that 2 or 4 beats prefer the 3-syllable あした and 3 beats prefer the 2-syllable あす.  Japanese nouns are used in association with a postposition more often than in the bear forms.  Most postpositions have no accent, so they belong to the rhythm groups consisting of the syllables of the nouns they modify.  In traditional song writing conventions, they do not start a rhythm group.  If we see more instances of the metaphorical use of あした than in ordinary speech, it may mean that more songs are written in 2 or 4 beats than in 3 beats.


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## lammn

Flaminius said:


> I am surprised that so many instances of あした are used metaphorically, my conviction being:
> 
> 
> Flaminius said:
> 
> 
> 
> There is at least one sense for which あす is more common than あした. It can be the metaphor for a near future
Click to expand...

Oops, I didn't realize that あす means "future" in the lyrics I quoted.

Which reminds me a joke (but it's real) that some poor E→C translation in which the movie "the Day after Tomorrow" is translated as 後日.

That said, the 2nd entry of this dictionary *defines* あす as 近い将来(near future) or 未来(future).
In this sense, I regard "(near) future" as one of the _definitions_, not metaphorical use of あす.


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## Starfrown

lammn said:


> That said, the 2nd entry of this dictionary *defines* あす as 近い将来(near future) or 未来(future).
> In this sense, I regard "(near) future" as one of the _definitions_, not metaphorical use of あす.


I'm afraid I don't follow your reasoning here. It seems clear that the fundamental meaning of あす is "tomorrow," but that it is also used by extension to refer to the (near) future. It is not uncommon for dictionaries to list figurative or metaphorical extensions of words along with the more basic definitions.

As a side note, I've also heard あさって used in the same way.


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