然后(rán hòu) - then, after that, afterwards in Mandarin

然后 (rán hòu) combines 然 (rán), here a function word meaning 'thus' or 'so', with 后 (hòu), 'after' or 'behind'. The phrase means 'then' or 'afterwards'. The character 然 originally meant 'to burn', written with the fire radical 灬, before being borrowed grammatically.

Origin

compound

Root

然 (rán, thus) + 后 (hòu, after)