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(hòu) - after, behind, later in Mandarin

hòu

Traditional: 後

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Translation

after, behind, later

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Word origin

后 (hòu) here means 'after, behind'. In this sense it is the simplified form of 後, which combined 彳 (step), 幺 (small) and 夂 (to follow behind) to convey lagging or coming after. The plain 后 also independently means 'empress'.

Origin
compound
Root
后 (simplified from 後: 彳 step + 幺 + 夂 follow behind)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 后

后

Examples

。

After finishing the meal.

。

Let's talk in three days.

。

He is behind me.

。

After class we will go and eat.

。

He will be back after three days.

后 (hòu) means after, behind, later. It is used as a noun in everyday Mandarin speech.

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Appears in 7 words

Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 后.

然后rán hòuthen, after that, afterwards最后zuì hòulast, finally, in the end之后zhī hòuafter, afterwards, thereafter以后yǐ hòuafter, from now on, in the future后面hòu miànbehind, at the back后来hòu láiafterwards, later后悔hòu huǐto regret, to feel remorse

Used in

Stories

(4)

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Mandarin · Free printables

后: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "后" (after, behind, later): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is taught in chapter 5, lesson 2: 后, 只有, 过来 and 7 more words.