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酒后 (jiǔ hòu) — after drinking alcohol; under the influence of alcohol

Definition

酒后 (jiǔ hòu) means 'after drinking / under the influence of alcohol' — it modifies a following verb (e.g. 酒后驾驶 'drink-driving'). Use 喝醉 when you mean the state of being drunk itself.

verb
after drinking alcoholunder the influence of alcohol

Examples

  • 酒后。
    jiǔ hòu Jià shǐ shì wéi fǎ de.
    Driving after drinking is illegal.
  • 酒后。
    Tā jiǔ hòu cháng cháng shuō yì xiē bù gāi shuō de huà.
    He often says things he shouldn't after drinking.
  • 酒后。
    jiǔ hòu Bàn xiǎo shí tā de liǎn jiù hóng le.
    Half an hour after drinking, his face turned red.

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.

酒jiǔalcohol
后hòuafter

酒 means alcohol; 后 gives after, so the whole means after drinking.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu酒jiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Open 酒 →

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
Alcohol & Tobacco

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