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午后 (wǔ hòu) — afternoon

Definition

noun
afternoon

Examples

  • 午后。
    Wǒ xí guàn zài wǔ hòu hē bēi chá.
    I'm used to drinking a cup of tea in the afternoon.
  • 午后。
    wǔ hòu De yáng guāng hěn wēn nuǎn.
    The afternoon sunlight is very warm.
  • 午后。
    Tā men zài wǔ hòu sàn bù.
    They take a walk in the afternoon.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

午wǔnoon
后hòuafter

午 (noon) + 后 (after) gives the time following noon.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 午 comes from a drawing of a pestle, a heavy tool used for pounding.

Open 午 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →
Appears in
Time of Day

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