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.

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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