How to Say “Later” in Chinese
Time and dates · HSK 2
"Later" in Chinese is 一会儿 (yí huìr). 'Later' is tricky in Chinese because the exact word depends on how much later. 一会儿 means 'in a little while' (minutes to an hour).
Primary translation
一会儿
yí huìr
Traditional: 一會兒
Variants by register
Formal
稍后
shāo hòu
Casual
待会儿
dāi huìr
When to use it
'Later' is tricky in Chinese because the exact word depends on how much later. 一会儿 means 'in a little while' (minutes to an hour). 待会儿 is the casual spoken version, extremely common in daily chat. 稍后 is formal; you'll hear it in announcements and customer service ('请稍后'). For 'later today' say 晚点; for 'someday later in life' use 以后. The 儿 (r-suffix) is heavy in the north; in Taiwan and the south speakers usually drop it and say 等一下 instead.
Example sentences
我一会儿给你打电话。
Wǒ yí huìr gěi nǐ dǎ diàn huà.
I'll call you in a bit.
待会儿见！
Dāi huìr jiàn!
See you later!
请稍后，我马上回来。
Qǐng shāo hòu, wǒ mǎ shàng huí lái.
Please wait a moment, I'll be right back.