后 (hòu) means "back, after" with 6 strokes, radical 口 (mouth), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: back
Other meanings:
- after
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
后 has a complicated history because the modern character fuses two originally distinct words. The oracle bone 后 depicts a figure, often interpreted as a woman giving birth or a ruler giving commands, and originally meant 'sovereign' or 'queen'. The sense of 'behind, after' was written with a separate traditional character 後, which shows 彳 (step), 幺 (small thread), and 夊 (slow walking), depicting someone lagging behind on a path.
Form evolution
The ruler-sense 后 evolves steadily from oracle bone through 金文 and 篆书 with a recognisable human figure plus 口. 後 has its own independent evolution through the same scripts, retaining three components. In the 1950s simplification, 後 was merged into 后, so modern Simplified Chinese uses one character for both meanings while Traditional Chinese still distinguishes them.
How the meaning evolved
The older 后 meant 'sovereign, ruler, queen' and survives in 皇后 (empress) and 太后 (empress dowager). The 'after, behind' sense originally belonged to 後 and covers time (以后, afterwards), space (后面, behind), and sequence (最后, last). Because of the simplification merger, modern 后 carries both meanings and context alone tells them apart.
Cultural note
Traditional texts and Taiwan/Hong Kong publications still write 後 for 'after', so learners reading cross-strait material will see both forms. The merger is a common exam trap: 皇后 (empress) and 以后 (afterwards) use what was historically the same graph only in Simplified.
Mnemonic
A mouth trailing behind — after, back
Decomposition
Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.
Basic info
| Pinyin | hòu |
| Meanings | back, after |
| Stroke count | 6 strokes |
| Radical | 口 (#30: mouth) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1, write by hand at HSK 1-2 |
| Frequency | #131 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 后
Related characters
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
Appears in these articles
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.