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后辈 (hòu bèi) — younger generation (in relation to one's elders); posterity; descendants

Definition

A relational term meaning 'younger generation' — always relative to the speaker or a named 前辈/长辈. The first sense covers juniors in a field or workplace; the second is a more literary sense for descendants/posterity.

noun
younger generation (in relation to one's elders)posteritydescendants

Examples

  • ，后辈。
    Tā zuò wéi xué shù jiè de qián bèi, fēi cháng yuàn yì bāng zhù hòu bèi.
    As a senior in academia, he is very willing to help the younger generation.
  • 后辈。
    Zhè xiē yí chǎn dōu shì wèi le liú gěi hòu bèi de.
    This inheritance is all meant to be left to posterity.
  • ，后辈。
    Zài gōng zuò zhōng, hòu bèi yīng gāi xū xīn xiàng zhǎng bèi xué xí.
    At work, junior colleagues should humbly learn from their seniors.

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
辈bèigeneration

“后” means later and “辈” means generation, so it denotes the later generation.

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 輩; 辈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jū
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi輩bèi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 輩 pairs 車 (vehicle) with 非, which gives the sound; this describes 輩, not the simplified 辈.

Open 辈 →
Appears in
Family & KinshipLife Stages & Age

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