TongTong
Sign in

而后 (ér hòu) — then; after that (formal/literary conjunction)

Definition

Formal/written connector meaning 'and then, after that' — used in essays and reports rather than everyday speech, where 然后 is the spoken equivalent.

verb
thenafter that (formal/literary conjunction)

Examples

  • ，而后。
    Tā xiān tí chū jì huà, ér hòu zài tǎo lùn xì jié.
    He first proposed the plan, then discussed the details.
  • ，而后。
    Wǒ men yīng gāi xiān diào chá qīng chǔ, ér hòu zuò chū jué dìng.
    We should first investigate thoroughly, then make a decision.
  • ，而后。
    Jīng guò duō cì shí yàn, ér hòu tā zhōng yú qǔ dé le chéng gōng.
    After many experiments, she finally achieved success.

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.

而érand then
后hòuafter

而 carries the sense of and then, and 后 means after, giving the sense of after that.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 而 is a picture of a beard.

Open 而 →

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
Time (Abstract)

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.