Chinese word

其后

Pronunciation

Pinyinqí hòu

Meaning

  • adverbafterward

Example

他去了北京，其后我没有再见到他。tā qù le běi jīng qí hòu wǒ méi yǒu zài jiàn dào tā

He went to Beijing, and afterward I never saw him again.

Illustration for 其后 (afterward)

More examples

他辞职，其后不久成立了自己的公司。tā cí zhí qí hòu bù jiǔ chéng lì le zì jǐ de gōng sī

He resigned, and soon afterward started his own company.

Core concept

A signpost pointing from a known event to what follows in the story.

Common phrases

  • 其后不久qí hòu bù jiǔ

    soon afterward

  • 其后一直qí hòu yì zhí

    ever afterward

  • 其后又qí hòu yòu

    afterward again

Similar words

以后yǐ hòu: Covers any time after a stated point and is natural in ordinary conversation.
之后zhī hòu: Introduces a later time or event after a stated event, especially in writing.
随后suí hòu: Shows that a following event or action happens right away or soon after.
后来hòu lái: Introduces a later event when recounting what happened after an earlier past event.

Definition in Chinese

指在前面提到的事情之后的时间或随后的情况，作副词使用，表示随后发生或延续的状态。zhǐ zài qián miàn tí dào de shì qíng zhī hòu de shí jiān huò suí hòu de qíng kuàng zuò fù cí shǐ yòng biǎo shì suí hòu fā shēng huò yán xù de zhuàng tài

Word origin

其 (qí, "that") points back to a stated matter, while 后 (hòu, "after") places the next event beyond it.

Usage tips

  • For conversational Chinese, recognizing this written-style signpost helps connect formal narratives with the simpler time expressions heard in daily speech.

Other meanings

  • lateradverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word