后来者 (hòu lái zhě) — latecomer; person who arrives later; successor (in a competitive context, especially referring to someone who catches up or surpasses)

Definition

A latecomer — someone who enters a field, market, or competition after others. Often used in business and competitive contexts to mean 'the one who arrives later and must catch up'.

noun
latecomerperson who arrives latersuccessor (in a competitive context, especially referring to someone who catches up or surpasses)
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 后来者,。
    Zuò wéi hòu lái zhě, tā fēi cháng nǔ lì xiàng lǎo tóng shì xué xí.
    As a latecomer, he works very hard to learn from senior colleagues.
  • 后来者,。
    Suī rán tā shì hòu lái zhě, dàn yǐ jīng zài jì shù shàng chāo guò le hěn duō rén.
    Although he is a latecomer, he has already surpassed many people in technology.
  • ,后来者。
    Zhè ge háng yè jìng zhēng jī liè, hòu lái zhě bì xū zhǎo dào zì jǐ de yōu shì.
    This industry is highly competitive; latecomers must find their own advantages.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

后来later coming
后hòulater来láicome
偏正Modifier + head
者zhěone who

后 and 来 mean later coming, and 者 marks one who does that, a latecomer.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Open 来 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 者 originally drew a sugarcane with full stems, small points around it, and an open smiling mouth at the bottom.

Open 者 →

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