Kilo Lingo

(hòu) - after, behind, later in Mandarin

hòu

Traditional: 後

Line drawing of 后
Coloured illustration of 后
HSK 2
#211 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

after, behind, later

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

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.

Where this fits

Appears in 7 words

Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 后.

Used in

Grammar articles

(9)

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue

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.

Free for members

The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.

Start your free week

This word is part of lesson 5.