后脚 (hòu jiǎ) — rear foot (the back foot when walking); the person or thing immediately behind, close behind

Definition

后脚 literally means 'rear foot' (the back foot when walking) and extends to mean 'close behind' — often paired with 前脚 in the set phrase 前脚…后脚… to mean 'just as X happened, then Y immediately after'.

noun
rear foot (the back foot when walking)the person or thing immediately behind, close behind
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • ，，后脚。
    Tā zǒu lù de shí hou, qián jiǎo gāng luò dì, hòu jiǎ jiù tái qǐ lái le.
    When he walks, as soon as his front foot touches the ground, his back foot lifts up.
  • ，后脚。
    Qián miàn de chē hái méi kāi duō yuǎn, hòu jiǎ de chē jiù zhuī shàng lái le.
    The car in front hadn't driven far before the car close behind caught up.
  • ，后脚。
    Tā qián jiǎo gāng zǒu, hòu jiǎ wǒ jiù dào le.
    As soon as he left, I arrived.

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hòurear
脚jiǎofoot

后 (rear) and 脚 (foot) mean the back foot or close behind.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 腳; 脚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat, body
Sound part声符shēngfú
卻
卻què腳jiǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 腳 uses ⺼ for a body part and 卻 for the sound; the simplified 脚 is a later shorthand.

Open 脚 →

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