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后

後
hòu
#48 most
frequent character
back, behind, after, later
noun
adverb
preposition

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

后 first showed a woman giving birth, so it meant 'successor to the throne'. It grew to 'king', 'queen', 'after', 'descendant', and 'late'. It also meant 'after; behind' very early.

Drawn as: woman giving birth; woman's legs; child's head and arms

后 as a component in other characters

sound3 characters
垢逅诟
picture1 character
骺

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Example Sentences

我在你后面。
wǒzài nǐ hòumiàn 。
I am behind you.
我们后天去旅行。
wǒmen hòutiān qù lǚxíng 。
We are traveling the day after tomorrow.
请等我一下,稍后再说。
qǐng děng wǒ yīxià , shāo hòu zàishuō 。
Please wait for me for a moment, and I'll talk later.

Same Characters, Different Readings

后Hou4
surname Hou
后hòu
back, behind, after, later

Words with similar meanings

背后bèihòu
behind
背后 emphasizes being physically behind something, while 后 is more general.
之后zhīhòu
after
之后 emphasizes the sequence in time, indicating something that comes after.

Words Starting With 后

后悔hòu huǐ
to regret; to repent
后来hòu lái
afterwards; later
后果hòu guǒ
consequences; aftermath
后代hòu dài
posterity; later periods; later ages; later generations
后勤hòu qín
logistics

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Homophones

HSK 4
厚hòu
thick, deep or profound, kind
后hòu
back, behind, after, later
侯hòu
used in 閩侯|闽侯[Min3hou4] (the name of a place in Fujian)
候hòu
to wait, to inquire after, to watch

Grammar Points

HSK 1
After a specific time with "yihou"
HSK 3
In the future in general with "yihou"
Expressing "before" and "after" with "zhiqian" and "zhihou"