后

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

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

我在书的后面。
wǒzài shū de hòumiàn 。
I am behind the book.
我们后天去旅游。
wǒmen hòutiān qù lǚyóu 。
We will travel the day after tomorrow.
请等我一下，我马上就到后面。
qǐng děng wǒ yīxià ， wǒ mǎshàng jiùdào hòumiàn 。
Please wait for me a moment, I will be at the back soon.

Same Characters, Different Readings

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

Words with similar meanings

后面hòumiàn
the back
This term specifically refers to the area at the back of something, similar to '后'.
之后zhīhòu
after
This term emphasizes the sequence in time, meaning 'after' in a temporal context.

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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