后来
HSK 3 (exam 2025)HSK 2 (2021)Old HSK 3
后来 (hòulái) · later
后来 (hòulái) means “later; afterwards”. It is written with 2 characters: 后 (behind) + 来 (to come). It is an HSK 3 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 后来 is built
The characters
后 hòu · behind
What 后 is made of
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 冂 — frame
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 冂 — frame
来 lái · to come
What 来 is made of
- 未wèi — not yet
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 木mù — tree
- 十 — ten
- 八bā — eight
- 丷ha — kwukyel
- 丶 — dot
Origin hint: A wheat plant that has not yet borne fruit; compare 來 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
后来他去了北京。Hòulái tā qù le Běijīng.Later he went to Beijing.
后来呢?他们怎么样了?Hòulái ne? Tāmen zěnmeyàng le?And then? What happened to them?
Questions about 后来
What does 后来 mean?
后来 (hòulái) means “later; afterwards”.
How do you pronounce 后来?
后来 is pronounced hòulái.
Which HSK level is 后来?
后来 is in HSK 3 (exam 2025) and HSK 2 (2021) and Old HSK 3.
Related words
- 后边hòubianbehind
- 后天hòutiānday after tomorrow
- 最后zuìhòulast
- 今后jīnhòufrom now on
- 然后ránhòuthen
- 以后yǐhòuafter
- 背后bèihòubehind
- 后果hòuguǒconsequence
- 后面hòumianbehind
- 后年hòuniánthe year after next
Learn 后来 with its group
It is part of HSK 2 (2021) · Group 72: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.