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后事 (hòu shì) — later developments; subsequent events; funeral arrangements; burial matters

Definition

后事 is a literary noun with two unrelated senses: 'funeral arrangements' (a euphemistic setup for burial matters) and 'later developments / what happened next' (used in storytelling or reporting on an event).

noun
later developmentssubsequent eventsfuneral arrangementsburial matters

Examples

  • ，后事。
    Tā qù shì qián, yǐ jīng bǎ hòu shì dōu ān pái hǎo le.
    Before he passed away, he had already arranged all the funeral matters.
  • ，后事。
    Zhè ge gù shi wǒ zhī jiǎng le yí bàn, hòu shì rú hé nǐ zì jǐ qù xiǎng ba.
    I've only told half of this story; the later developments you'll have to imagine yourself.
  • 后事，。
    Guān yú zhè cì shì gù de hòu shì, wǒ men míng tiān kāi huì tǎo lùn.
    We'll discuss the aftermath of this accident in tomorrow's meeting.

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
事shìaffair

后事 joins 后 later with 事 affair, giving subsequent events or funeral arrangements.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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