Chinese word

然后

Pronunciation

Pinyinrán hòu

Meaning

  • adverbthen

Example

我先洗澡，然后再吃饭。wǒ xiān xí zǎo rán hòu zài chī fàn

I take a bath first, and then I eat.

Illustration for 然后 (then)

More examples

他做完工作，然后回家。tā zuò wán gōng zuò rán hòu huí jiā

He finishes his work, then goes home.

Core concept

A marker that places one event after another without saying that the first causes the second.

Common phrases

  • 然后回家rán hòu huí jiā

    then go home

  • 然后去学校rán hòu qù xué xiào

    then go to school

  • 然后学习rán hòu xué xí

    then study

Similar words

后来hòu lái: Describes what took place at a later stage after an earlier past event.
以后yǐ hòu: Points to the period after a given time or to what happens from then on.
接着jiē zhe: Connects an earlier action smoothly to the action that follows it next.

Definition in Chinese

表示时间上的先后，也可用作句内连词，强调顺序而不必表示因果关系。biǎo shì shí jiān shàng de xiān hòu yě kě yòng zuò jù nèi lián cí qiáng diào shùn xù ér bú bì biǎo shì yīn guǒ guān xì

Word origin

然后 (ránhòu, "then") combines 然 (rán, "so; in that way") with 后 (hòu, "after; later"), forming a word that points to what comes next in a sequence.

Usage tips

  • English then can show a result as well as a time order, but this Chinese word mainly connects events in the order they happen.

Other meanings

  • afterwardadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word