后代 (hòu dài) — descendants, offspring; later generations, futu…

Definition

后代 covers both sense 'descendants' (often of one family line) and 'future generations' as a collective (人类后代). More specific and individual than 后人 or 后世, which lean toward 'posterity / future humanity'; 子孙 and 后裔 are literary synonyms.

noun

descendantsoffspringlater generationsfuture generations

Examples

后代。
Tā de hòu dài dōu hěn yǒu chū xi.
His descendants are all very promising.
后代。
Wǒ men yīng dāng wèi hòu dài bǎo hù huán jìng.
We should protect the environment for future generations.
后代。
Zhè bù xiǎo shuō jiǎng shù le yí gè jiā zú de hòu dài.
This novel tells the story of a family's descendants.

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.

后hòulater

代dàigeneration

后 points to later and 代 to generation, giving later generations.

Characters in this word

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.

幺幺yāothread
夊夊suīfoot

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻弋代

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

弋

弋yì代dài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 代, 亻 shows a person, and 弋 gives the sound.

Open 代 →

Appears in