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稍后 (shāo hòu) — in a little while; later; in a moment

Definition

Formal/written adverb for 'shortly, in a moment'. Same idea as 一会儿 but more written; later than the immediate 现在.

adverb
in a little whilelaterin a moment

Examples

  • 稍后。
    Qǐng shāo hòu zài lián xì wǒ.
    Please contact me again later.
  • 稍后。
    shāo hòu Wǒ zài gěi nǐ dá fù.
    I'll give you a reply in a little while.
  • 稍后。
    Huì yì shāo hòu kāi shǐ.
    The meeting will start later.

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.

稍shāoa little
后hòulater

稍后 puts 稍 a-little with 后 later for a little later.

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
禾禾hé
Sound part声符shēngfú
肖
肖xiào稍shāo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

稍 combines 禾 and 肖: 禾 is the part tied to the character's meaning, and 肖 is the part tied to its sound.

Open 稍 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Time (Abstract)5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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