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随后 (suí hòu) — soon after, afterwards

Definition

随后 means 'soon after / afterwards' — a written adverb linking events in sequence. It is more formal than 接着 and emphasizes 'shortly after' rather than the next immediate step.

adverb
soon afterafterwards

Examples

  • ，随后。
    Tā xiān chī le fàn, suí hòu jiù chū mén le.
    He ate first, and then went out soon after.
  • ，随后。
    Huì yì jié shù hòu, suí hòu dà jiā kāi shǐ tǎo lùn.
    After the meeting ended, everyone started discussing soon after.
  • ，随后。
    Tā xiān qù le běi jīng, suí hòu yòu qù le shàng hǎi.
    She first went to Beijing, and soon after went to Shanghai.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

随suífollow
后hòuafter

随 gives following, and 后 gives after, so the whole means soon after.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 隨; 随 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalking
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡐦
𡐦𡐦隨suí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 隨 pairs 辵 (walking) with 𡐦 (the sound part); the simplified 随 is a later shorthand.

Open 随 →

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 5Time (Abstract)

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