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身后 (shēn hòu) — the space behind a person; rear; after one's death (used in formal or literary contexts)

Definition

身后 covers two distinct senses: literally 'the space behind a person', and figuratively 'after one's death' (formal/written). The post-mortem sense is only used in serious or literary contexts like 身后财产.

noun
the space behind a personrearafter one's death (used in formal or literary contexts)

Examples

  • 身后。
    Tā zhuǎn shēn kàn le kàn shēn hòu.
    He turned around and looked behind him.
  • 身后。
    Tā liú xià le yí dà bǐ shēn hòu cái chǎn.
    He left behind a large estate after his death.
  • 身后。
    Tā gǎn jué shēn hòu yǒu rén gēn zhe tā.
    He felt someone was following behind him.

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.

身shēnbody
后hòubehind

身 is the body and 后 is the area behind it, giving one's rear or after death.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 身 comes from a drawing of a pregnant woman.

Open 身 →

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 →
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