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后来hòu láiafterwards; later

HSK 3word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

后来 (hòu lái) means "afterwards" or "later." It points to something that happened after an earlier past event, so it is used when telling a story about the past, not for future plans. 他先在学校工作,后来去了医院 says he first worked at a school and later went to a hospital.

What does 后来 mean?

  1. 1.

    afterwards; laternoun

What do the characters in 后来 mean?

  • 后afterwards
  • 来not compositional here

How do you use 后来?

后来 is for past sequences; for something later in the future, 以后 is used instead.

What are some examples of 后来 in a sentence?

  1. 他先在学校工作,后来去了医院。

    Tā xiān zài xuéxiào gōngzuò, hòulái qù le yīyuàn.

    He first worked at a school, and later went to a hospital.

  2. 后来他回国了。

    Hòulái tā huí guó le.

    Afterwards he went back to his country.

  3. 后来呢?

    Hòulái ne?

    And then what happened?

How is 后来 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    你和小王是怎么认识的?

    Nǐ hé Xiǎo Wáng shì zěnme rènshi de?

    How did you and Xiao Wang meet?

  2. Speaker B:

    我们以前在一个学校学习。

    Wǒmen yǐqián zài yí ge xuéxiào xuéxí.

    We used to study at the same school.

  3. Speaker A:

    后来呢?

    Hòulái ne?

    And then?

  4. Speaker B:

    后来我们在一家公司工作。

    Hòulái wǒmen zài yì jiā gōngsī gōngzuò.

    Later we worked at the same company.

What should you learn next?

English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.