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落后 (luò hòu) — to fall behind, to lag (in competition, technology, etc.); backward, underdeveloped

Definition

As a verb, 落后 means 'to fall behind / lag behind' in a competitive sense (a country, team, or technology). As an adjective, it means 'backward, underdeveloped.' 滞后 is its more formal, written counterpart for abstract contexts.

to fall behindto lag (in competition, technology, etc.)backwardunderdeveloped

Examples

  • ，落后。
    Tā xué xí bù nǔ lì, hěn kuài jiù luò hòu le.
    He doesn't study hard, so he'll soon fall behind.
  • 落后。
    Nà ge dì qū de jiāo tōng hái hěn luò hòu.
    The transportation in that region is still backward.
  • 落后。
    Wǒ men de jì shù bù néng luò hòu yú qí tā guó jiā.
    Our technology cannot lag behind other countries.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

落luòfall
后hòubackward

落 means fall and 后 means backward, so the word pictures falling backward, hence lagging.

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
洛
洛luò落luò
Same sound today

落 pairs 艹 with 洛; 洛 gives the sound, and 艹 relates to the meaning.

Open 落 →

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 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Good & Bad

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