HSK 3.0 Level 3 · Time

以后 yǐhòu “after” in Chinese

Traditional 以後

What 以后 means

  1. after
  2. later
  3. afterwards
  4. following
  5. later on
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • in the future

How to say 以后

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale以yǐ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale后hòu4th tone, falling

以后 in a sentence

  1. 你放学以后干什么?

    Nǐ fàngxué yǐhòu gàn shénme?

    What do you do after school?

    Sentence #427648 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 你以后想当什么呢?

    Nǐ yǐhòu xiǎng dāng shénme ne?

    What would you like to be in the future?

    Sentence #2241825 from Tatoeba

  3. 以后再讲。

    Yǐhòu zài jiǎng.

    Let’s talk later.

    Sentence #330582 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 以后 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.

The character 以 (yǐ) drawn as one shape
以yǐto use

以 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

The character 后 (hòu) drawn as one shape
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 以后

以 4 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.

以后 (yǐhòu) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 以后 (yǐhòu). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 以后

Words with 以

Words with 后

More words: Time & Sequence

FAQs

以后 (yǐhòu) means “after” or “later”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word.
Say it yǐhòu: yǐ with a 3rd 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, 以后 is written 以後. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yihou with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 以后 from the suggestions. Typing yihou into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
以后 is an HSK 3.0 Level 3 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 3 word list. It is not on the older 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.