屋后 (wū hòu) — behind the house; back of the house

Definition

noun
behind the houseback of the house

Examples

  • 屋后。
    wū hòu Yǒu yì kē dà shù.
    There is a big tree behind the house.
  • 屋后。
    Hái zi men zài wū hòu wán shuǎ.
    The children are playing behind the house.
  • 屋后。
    wū hòu Yǒu yí gè xiǎo huā yuán.
    There is a small garden behind the house.

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.

屋wūhouse
后hòuback

屋后 puts 屋, house, before 后, back, to mean the area behind the house.

Characters in this word

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
室室shìroom
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡉉
𡉉𡉉屋wū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

屋 comes from 室, meaning room, with 𡉉 for sound; its upper part later changed into an unrelated shape.

Open 屋 →

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 →

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