后宫 (hòu gōng) — (noun) the imperial harem; the inner palace qua…

Definition

后宫 refers to the emperor's inner palace and the collective consorts living there — both the place and the people. In modern usage it appears mainly in historical drama and web novels about palace intrigue.

noun

the imperial haremthe inner palace quarters reserved for the emperor's consortsthe collective body of imperial consorts and concubines

Examples

后宫。
Zhè bù diàn shì jù jiǎng shù le hòu gōng zhōng fēi zi men zhī jiān de míng zhēng àn dòu.
This TV series tells the story of the open and secret struggles among the concubines in the imperial harem.
后宫。
Gǔ dài hòu gōng zhì dù fǎn yìng le fēng jiàn shè huì de děng jí guān niàn.
The ancient imperial harem system reflected the hierarchical concepts of feudal society.
后宫。
Hěn duō wǎng luò xiǎo shuō dōu cǎi yòng hòu gōng zhēng chǒng de tí cái.
Many web novels adopt the theme of competing for favor in the imperial harem.

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hòurear

宫gōngpalace

后 (rear) and 宫 (palace) point to the inner quarters of an emperor.

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.

幺幺yāothread
夊夊suīfoot

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 宮; 宫 is its simplified writing.

宀呂宮