后来 meaning in English

hòulái

afterwards; later; newly arrived

HSK 2nounTraditional 後來13 strokes

Meaning of 后来

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

hòulái

afterwards; later
newly arrived

How to use 后来

后来 is used to talk about something that happened later in the past, often in stories. It usually sits at the start of a sentence or before the verb. Example: 后来他去了北京。(Hòulái tā qù le Běijīng.) Later he went to Beijing.

后 (hòu) means behind or after, and 来 (lái) means to come. What comes after is what happens later, so 后来 means afterwards.

Common mistake: Learners often use 后来 for the future, but it only describes past events. For something that will happen later, use 以后 (yǐhòu) or 等一下 (děng yíxià), as in 我以后去 (wǒ yǐhòu qù), I will go later.

后来 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

他tā后hòu来lái写xiě信xìn给gěi总zǒng统tǒng。

Later he wrote to the president.

他tā十shí分fēn钟zhōng之zhī后hòu来lái。

He came after ten minutes.

你nǐ后hòu来lái还hái来lái过guò这zhè儿ér吗ma？

Have you been here since?

一yī开kāi头tóu她tā吓xià坏huài了le, 后hòu来lái才cái定dìng下xià神shén来lái。

At first she was terrified, then she pulled herself together.

我wǒ的de车chē我wǒ上shàng个gè月yuè修xiū好hǎo了le，后hòu来lái又yòu坏huài了le。

I fixed my car last month, but it broke again afterwards.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

后 hòu · back · 6 strokes

来 lái · to come · 7 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 后来.

回来	huílái	to return; to come back
起来	qǐlái	to stand up; to get up; also pr. [qi3lai2]
出来	chūlái	to come out; to appear
最后	zuìhòu	final; last; ultimate; finally; in the end
进来	jìnlái	to come in
来到	láidào	to arrive; to come
后天	hòutiān	the day after tomorrow; life after birth (the period in which one develops through experie
后边	hòubian	the back; the rear; the last bit; behind; near the end; at the back
然后	ránhòu	then; after that; afterwards
过来	guòlái	to come over; to manage
以后	yǐhòu	after; later
带来	dàilái	to bring; (fig.) to bring about; to produce

Questions about 后来

What does 后来 mean?

后来 (hòulái) means "afterwards; later; newly arrived" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 后来?

后来 is made of 2 characters: 后 (6 strokes), 来 (7 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.

Is 后来 an HSK word?

Yes. 后来 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 后来 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 后来 is written 後來.

What is the difference between 后来 and 然后?

然后 (ránhòu) means then or next and links steps in a sequence, in the past or future. 后来 marks a later time in the past, often after a gap, and usually cannot be used for plans or instructions.

Is the 来 in 后来 pronounced with a full second tone?

Yes, 后来 is normally said hòulái with a clear second tone on 来. This differs from directional verbs like 回来 (huílai) or 起来 (qǐlai), where 来 is often light.