Sentence #1397339 from Tatoeba · translation adapted
How 然后 is built
Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
然ráncorrect
肰dog meat · ránSound part
灬fire form of 火 · huǒMeaning part
灬 hints at the meaning (fire); 肰 (rán) hints at the sound. Compare it with rán.
Memory aidFire 灬 under meat 肰. Its first meaning was “to burn”, now written 燃 (rán).
后hòuempress
后 is a single shape of 6 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
Memory aidIts first meaning was “queen”. As a simplified character it also stands for 後: behind, after.
How to write 然后
然 12 strokes · 后 6 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 然后 (ránhòu). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
然后 (ránhòu) means “then” or “afterwards”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it ránhòu: rán with a 2nd tone, then hòu with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 然后 is written 然後. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type ranhou with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 然后 from the suggestions. Typing ranhou into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
然后 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
然rán2nd tone, rising
后hòu4th tone, falling
