后 (hòu): after

Meanings

1 after
2 behind
3 back
4 later

Characters

后

hòu

after; behind; back; later

Examples

吃饭后我去学校。

Chīfàn hòu wǒ qù xuéxiào.

After eating, I go to school.

你后面有人。

Nǐ hòumiàn yǒu rén.

There's someone behind you.

Tips

grammar

后 can indicate time (以后 — after/in the future) or space (后面 — behind). Context determines which.

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth; speaking

Lower 口 is the mouth radical and the entry's filing point. In the queen sense it stands for the royal mouth that issues commands; in the after / behind sense (originally written 後) the modern simplified form merged that meaning into this same 口-bearing silhouette.

ideograph

后 hòu

after; queen (upper fused body)

Top three strokes form a cliff-and-stroke silhouette that no longer maps to a standalone CJK glyph — treat as a single fused upper body capping the 口 below. Historically a stylized remnant of an upside-down 司-like form, possibly depicting a ruler or birthing woman.