About
The character 后 (hòu) comes from an ancient depiction of a queen mother (母) giving birth to her heir (𠫓, an inverted child), originally conveying the meaning "heir to the throne". Over time, this sense broadened to refer to a ruler or empress. Separately, the traditional character 後, a compound of 彳 (step) with elements for walking and binding, expressed spatial "behind" or temporal "after". In the modern writing system, 后 absorbed these additional meanings as part of script simplification. As a result, the character now denotes both a sovereign consort and the concept of following in space or time.
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。
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