Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

後 (radical 60 彳+6, 9 strokes, cangjie input 竹人女戈水 (HOVIE), four-corner 2224₇, composition ⿰彳⿱幺夊)

References

• KangXi: page 366, character 18
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 10098
• Dae Jaweon: page 688, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 2, page 822, character 3
• Unihan data for U+5F8C

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 後
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Large seal script	Small seal script

Ideogrammic compound (會意) : 彳 + 幺 + 又.

Note that the simplified form 后 (OC *ɡoːʔ, *ɡoːs) is also a traditional character on its own, with a different meaning.

Pronunciation

Definitions

後

1. behind; rear; back

   Antonyms: 前 (qián)

2. later; after; afterwards

   以後 / 以后  ―  yǐhòu  ―  after

   然後 / 然后  ―  ránhòu  ―  after, afterwards

3. descendants; offsprings

   無後 / 无后  ―  wúhòu  ―  to lack male offspring

4. anus

Compounds

Japanese

Kanji

(grade 2 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. behind, after

Readings

• Goon: ぐ (gu) (non-Jōyō reading)
• Kan’on: こう (kō)
• Tōon: ご (go)
• Kun: あと (ato), うしろ (後, 後ろ, ushiro), おくれ (後, 後れ, okure), おくれる (後れる, okureru), しり (shiri), しりえ (後, 後方, shirie), のち (nochi), ゆり (yuri)
• Nanori: こし (koshi), し (shi), しい (shī)

Compounds

Etymology 1

Originally an extension of 跡 ‎(ato, “footprint; leftover”), itself a compound of 足 ‎(ato, “foot”) +‎ 所 ‎(to, “place”).^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) あ​と [áꜜtò] (Atamadaka - [1])^[2][4]
• IPA^(key): [a̠to̞]

Noun

後 ‎(hiragana あと, romaji ato)

1. (spatially) the back, the rear, behind
2. (temporally) later, afterwards, some time after the present
3. the rest

Etymology 2

Probably from Old Japanese. Usage examples appear in texts from at least the 900s.^[1] Ultimate derivation unknown.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) うしろ [ùshíró] (Heiban - [0])^[2][4]
• IPA^(key): [ɯᵝɕiɺ̠o̞]

Alternative forms

• 後ろ (more common)

Noun

後 ‎(hiragana うしろ, romaji ushiro)

1. the back, the rear (both spatially and temporally)
2. one's backside

Etymology 3

The 連用形 ‎(ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 遅れる ‎(okureru, “to be late; to be delayed; to come after something else”). Examples appear from at least the 1300s.^[1]

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) おくれ [òkúré] (Heiban - [0])^[2][4]
• IPA^(key): [o̞kɯᵝɺ̠e̞]

Alternative forms

• 後れ, 遅れ (more common)

Noun

後 ‎(hiragana おくれ, romaji okure)

1. something later, after, or behind
2. inferiority
3. uncertainty, nervousness, indecision

Etymology 4

From Old Japanese. Ultimate derivation unknown.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) しり​ [shìríꜜ] (Odaka - [2])^[2][4]
• IPA^(key): [ɕiɾi]

Alternative forms

• 尻 (much more common)

Noun

後 ‎(hiragana しり, romaji shiri)

1. Alternative spelling of 尻: behind, tail, rump, butt, posterior

Etymology 5

From Old Japanese. Compound of 尻 ‎(shiri, “butt, tail, rear”) +‎ 方 ‎(e, “side, facing, way, direction”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) しりえ​ [shìríéꜜ] (Odaka - [3])^[2]
• (Tokyo) しりえ [shìríé] (Heiban - [0])^[2][4]
• IPA^(key): [ɕiɾie̞]

Alternative forms

• 後方

Noun

後 ‎(hiragana しりえ, romaji shirie)

1. the rear, back, or backside of something
2. the rearward or backward direction
3. the portion of a palace where a queen or other female imperial consort lives

Etymology 6

From Old Japanese. Ultimate derivation unknown.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) のち​ [nòchíꜜ] (Odaka - [2])^[2][4]
• (Tokyo) のち [nòchí] (Heiban - [0])^[2][4]
• IPA^(key): [no̞t͡ɕi]

Noun

後 ‎(hiragana のち, romaji nochi)

1. later, afterwards, some time after the present

Etymology 7

From Old Japanese. Ultimate derivation unknown. May be cognate with より ‎(yori, “from; after”).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [jɯᵝɾi]

Noun

後 ‎(hiragana ゆり, romaji yuri)

1. (obsolete) later, afterwards, some time after the present

Etymology 8

From Middle Chinese 後 ‎(/ɦəuX/, /ɦəuH/, “after”). Classified as the tōon or "Tang sound", so likely borrowed from the dialects spoken during the Tang dynasty.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Tōon
• (Tokyo) ご [gò] (Heiban - [0])^[2][4]
• IPA^(key): [ɡo̞]

Noun

後 ‎(hiragana ご, romaji go)

1. later, afterwards, some time after the present

Suffix

後 ‎(hiragana ご, romaji -go)

1. after

Etymology 9

From Middle Chinese 後 ‎(/ɦəuX/, “after”). Classified as the kan'on, so likely a later borrowing. Compare modern Mandarin reading hòu.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• IPA^(key): [ko̞ː]

Prefix

後 ‎(hiragana こう, romaji kō-)

1. prefixing element in kanji compounds, adding a meaning of later, after, following, rearward

Usage notes

Only used in compounds. Never used in isolation.

References

1. 1 2 3 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
3. ↑ 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, ISBN 4-09-501211-0
4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13143-0

Korean

Hanja

後 • ‎(hu) (hangeul 후, McCune-Reischauer hu, Yale hwu)

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Vietnamese

Han character

後 (hậu)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.