TongTong
Sign in

后患 (hòu huàn) — future trouble; seeds of future danger

Definition

后患 means 'trouble that will follow later' — the bad consequences left over from a present problem. It almost always appears with 留下 ('leave behind') or 消除/杜绝 ('eliminate').

noun
future troubleseeds of future danger

Examples

  • ，后患。
    Rú guǒ bù jí shí chǔ lǐ, zhè ge wèn tí huì liú xià hòu huàn.
    If not dealt with in time, this problem will leave future trouble.
  • 后患。
    Tā dān xīn zhè cì shī bài huì chéng wéi rì hòu de hòu huàn.
    He worries that this failure will become future trouble later.
  • ，后患。
    Zuò shì yào kǎo lǜ cháng yuǎn, bì miǎn liú xià hòu huàn.
    When doing things, consider the long term to avoid leaving future trouble.

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
患huàntrouble

“后” means later and “患” means trouble, so it denotes trouble that may come afterward.

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
串
串chuàn患huàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

患 is made from 心, a heart, plus 串, which gives the sound. Some old explanations also read the upper part as piercing through the heart.

Open 患 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsSafety & Danger

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.