Definitions
(adverb)
after; behind; later
(noun)
queen; empress
Etymology
Depicts a queen mother (母) giving birth to her heir (𠫓). Based on the original meaning "heir to the throne". The meaning later expanded to "ruler", "successor", and "after".
About
The character "后" has a complex history involving two distinct words that later merged. Its traditional form, 後, is composed of the components 彳 (related to movement), 幺 (small), and 夊 (slow step), structurally conveying the idea of lagging behind, which aligns with its original meaning of "behind" or "after" in sequence. Meanwhile, the simpler form 后 is itself an ancient character, originally a pictograph representing a person giving orders, which led to its early meanings of "sovereign" or "ruler", and later specifically "empress" or "queen". In the evolution of the writing system, the simpler form 后 was adopted to represent the meaning of the more complex 後 for the sense of "behind" or "after", while it retained its separate royal meaning. This resulted in the modern simplified character 后 bearing two primary meanings: the spatial/temporal concept of "after" and the title for a sovereign's consort.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我坐在后面。
放学后我回家。
然后他笑了。
雨后天空很蓝。
门后有一把伞。
她坐在我的后面。
考试后，我觉得轻松。
在未来的后工业时代，技术将主导一切。