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How to say “after” in Chinese with 以后 and 之后

Event + 以后 (yǐhòu) / Event + 之后 (zhīhòu)

以后 (yǐ hòu) vs 之后 (zhī hòu) — after, later

HSK 5Time Words

Rule structure

以后 (yǐhòu) and 之后 (zhīhòu) both mean "after". 以后 (yǐhòu) is more general and can stand alone; 之后 (zhīhòu) is more formal and often marks a clear temporal boundary.

Examples

毕业以后，我想去中国。 / 毕业之后，他开始工作。

Bìyè yǐhòu, wǒ xiǎng qù Zhōngguó. / Bìyè zhīhòu, tā kāishǐ gōngzuò.

After graduation, I want to go to China. / After graduation, he started working.

Practice

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Characters

Words from this rule

以

yǐ

By means of, in order to

后

hòu

After, later; behind, back

之

zhī

(literary) possessive particle; him, her, it

毕业

bìyè

To graduate

我

wǒ

I, me

想

xiǎng

To want, to think, to miss

去

qù

To go

中国

Zhōngguó

China

他

tā

He

开始

kāishǐ

To begin, beginning

工作

gōngzuò

To work; work, job

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “after, later” in Chinese with 以后 vs 之后?

Use the structure: Event + 以后 (yǐhòu) / Event + 之后 (zhīhòu). For example: 毕业以后，我想去中国。 / 毕业之后，他开始工作。 — “After graduation, I want to go to China. / After graduation, he started working”.

What is an example sentence with this grammar rule?

毕业以后，我想去中国。 / 毕业之后，他开始工作。 — “After graduation, I want to go to China. / After graduation, he started working”.

Which HSK level includes this grammar rule?

This grammar rule is part of HSK 5.

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坏了 — extremely, awfully

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万一 — what if

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就是 — even if…

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有关的 — related to…

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得很 — very, extremely

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