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后天 (hòu tiān) — the day after tomorrow

Definition

Means 'the day after tomorrow' (今天 → 明天 → 后天). Not to be confused with the philosophical sense 'acquired / a posteriori' (HSK 6+).

noun
the day after tomorrow

Examples

  • 后天。
    hòu tiān Shì xīng qī liù.
    The day after tomorrow is Saturday.
  • 后天。
    Wǒ men hòu tiān yì qǐ qù kàn diàn yǐng ba.
    Let's go watch a movie together the day after tomorrow.
  • 后天？
    Nǐ hòu tiān yào zuò shén me?
    What are you going to do the day after tomorrow?

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
天tiānday

后 'next' and 天 'day' together mean the day after tomorrow.

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.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3Days & Weeks

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