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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

後

hòu
behind; rear; back
  • Ideogrammatic compound 會意
  • HSK 1
  • TOCFL 5
  • radical 彳
  • 9 strokes

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  • derived
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Origin

The character 後 is an ideogrammic compound. In oracle bone script, it was formed from the components 幺 (“thread”) and 夊 (“foot”), depicting a foot bound by a rope to suggest lagging behind. The component 彳 was added later to emphasize this action. The Shuowen Jiezi glosses the character as 遲 (late/slow), noting it consists of 彳, 幺, and 夊.

It is inherited from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *hwak (“below”). This root is a cognate with the Tibetan འོག (“below”) and the Burmese အောက် (“under; below”), the latter of which stems from Proto-Lolo-Burmese *ʔok (“lower side; below”).

In terms of usage, the character refers to things that are later in time or order, or located at the back or end of a position. It can also mean descendant or offspring.

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

「後」字在甲骨文中是一個會意字，由「幺」（線）與「夊」（腳）組成，描述腳被繩索束縛而行進緩慢、落後的樣子。後來加入了「彳」部以強調此動作。《說文解字》記載此字為「遲也」，並說明其由「彳」、「幺」、「夊」組成。在現代意義中，此字可用於描述時間或次序較晚、位置在背面或接近末端，亦指代子孫。

從語源來看，「後」是從原始漢藏語 *hwak（意為「在下面」）繼承而來。它與藏語的 འོག（below）以及緬甸語的 အောက်（under; below）互為同源詞，後者則源自原始拉洛-緬甸語 *ʔok（lower side; below）。

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • inheritedProto-Sino-Tibetan*hwak “below”
  • ideaChinese幺 “tiny; minute”
  • ideaChinese夊 “of going, slow”

Related: Tibetan འོག, Burmese အောက်, Proto-Lolo-Burmese *ʔok

Words built on it: 后, 以後, 然後, 後年, 後來, 最後, 之後

Wiktionary etymology text

In oracle bone script, ideogrammic compound (會意 /会意): 幺 (“thread”) + 夊 (“foot”) – a foot bound by a rope, thus lagging behind. The component 彳 was added afterwards to emphasize this action.

Note that the simplified form 后 is also a traditional character on its own, with a different meaning.

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *hwak (“below”) (STEDT). Cognate with Tibetan འོག ('og, “below”), Burmese အောက် (auk, “under; below”) (from Proto-Lolo-Burmese *ʔok (“lower side; below”)).

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Meanings

character
  1. behind; rear; back
  2. later; after; afterwards
  3. last
  4. descendant; offspring
  5. post-
  6. anus

Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字

後：遲也。从彳、幺、夊者，後也。

Xu Shen, c. 100 CE — the first analytical dictionary of Chinese characters.

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 時間或次序較晚的。與「先」、「前」相對。 例：以後、後天、先來後到
  2. 位置在背面或接近末端的。與「前」相對。 例：背後、後排、向後轉。　◎
  3. 子孫。 例：無後、名人之後

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

How 後 was written 字形演變

  1. 後 in Oracle bone script
    Oracle bone
    甲骨文
    Shang, c. 1250–1050 BCE
  2. 後 in Bronze script
    Bronze
    金文
    Shang–Zhou
  3. 後 in Chu slips & silk script
    Chu slips & silk
    楚系簡帛
    Warring States
  4. 後 in Qin slips script
    Qin slips
    秦系簡牘
    Qin
  5. 後 in Small seal script
    Small seal
    說文小篆
    Shuowen, c. 100 CE
  6. 後 in Regular script
    Regular
    楷書
    since c. 200 CE

Historical forms collected by the legacy etymfun dataset; most characters have several attested variants.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • Historical glyph forms (zdic.net 字形演变) — Rights unverified
  • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • 說文解字 Shuowen Jiezi (Xu Shen, c. 100 CE) — Public domain
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 後