后

See also: 後

后 U+540E, 后 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-540E ← 名 [U+540D] CJK Unified Ideographs 吏 → [U+540F]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

后 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+3, 6 strokes, cangjie input 竹一口 (HMR), four-corner 7226₁, composition ⿸𠂋口)

Derived characters

• 𰂀, 垢, 𰃙, 𣢨, 姤, 䞧, 𥅠, 𭸫,㖃, 𫩲, 詬(诟), 㧨, 㤧, 骺, 銗, 𬭅, 㻈, 洉, 𪲉, 茩, 𫀱, 逅, 𬖙, 垕, 垢, 𫝴, 𧮶, 缿, 劶, 郈, 㸸, 𧲿, 𪊪, 𧊛, 𩗇, 鮜(鲘), 𪁆, 𬷎, 𧙺

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 176, character 1
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3298
• Dae Jaweon: page 393, character 1
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 580, character 1
• Unihan data for U+540E

Chinese

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 后
Shang	Spring and Autumn	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (后) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
垢	*koːʔ
詬	*koːʔ, *kʰoːs, *qʰoːs
茩	*koːʔ
姤	*koːs
銗	*ɡoː
骺	*ɡoː
后	*ɡoːʔ, *ɡoːs
垕	*ɡoːʔ
郈	*ɡoːʔ
逅	*ɡoːs
鲘
缿	*ɡoːs, *ɡroːŋʔ

Oracle bone inscriptions often wrote 后 as 毓, depicting a woman giving birth. Wang Guowei posits the meaning extended from childbirth to succession, then to empress. In the modern form, the birthing figure would be 𠂆 and the child figure 𠮛.

According to Kōjien and 学研漢和大字典, ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 人 (“person (variant form)”) + 口 (“hole”) — a depiction of a person's (人) anus, with the additional meaning of “behind”, “rear”, as well as coming to mean “emperor/empress”, who would live in a palace “behind” worldly troubles.

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.		后

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m/s-gaw (“head”). Cognate with Tibetan གོ (go, “head; headman”), མགོ (mgo, “head, top, beginning”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): hòu (hou⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄏㄡˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): hau⁶
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): heu
• Eastern Min (BUC): hâiu
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): hiō / hiǒ / hō͘

  (Teochew, Peng'im): hou⁶

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶gheu

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: hòu
    • Zhuyin: ㄏㄡˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: hòu
    • Wade–Giles: hou⁴
    • Yale: hòu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: how
    • Palladius: хоу (xou)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /xoʊ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: hau⁶
    • Yale: hauh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: hau⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: heo⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɐu̯²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: heu
    • Hakka Romanization System: heu
    • Hagfa Pinyim: heu⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /heu̯⁵⁵/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: hâiu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɑu²⁴²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hiō
    • Tâi-lô: hiō
    • Phofsit Daibuun: hioi
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /hiɤ³³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hio⁴¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /hio³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /hio²²/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hiǒ
    • Tâi-lô: hiǒ
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hio²²/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hō͘
    • Tâi-lô: hōo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: ho
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /hɔ⁴¹/
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /hɔ³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /hɔ²²/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: hou⁶
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hŏu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /hou³⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶gheu
    • MiniDict: gheu^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³hheu
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ɦɤ²³/

---

• Middle Chinese: huwX, huwH

Rime
Character	后	后
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	匣 (33)	匣 (33)
Final (韻)	侯 (137)	侯 (137)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	胡口切	胡遘切
Baxter	huwX	huwH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ɦəuX/	/ɦəuH/
Pan Wuyun	/ɦəuX/	/ɦəuH/
Shao Rongfen	/ɣəuX/	/ɣəuH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ɦəwX/	/ɦəwH/
Li Rong	/ɣuX/	/ɣuH/
Wang Li	/ɣəuX/	/ɣəuH/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ɣə̯uX/	/ɣə̯uH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	hòu	hòu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	hau6	hau6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*ɢˤ(r)oʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*ɡoːʔ/, /*ɡoːs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	后
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	hòu
Middle Chinese	‹ huwX ›
Old Chinese	/*ɢˁ(r)oʔ/
English	sovereign; queen
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	后	后
Reading #	1/2	2/2
No.	5168	5172
Phonetic component	后	后
Rime group	侯	侯
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	厚	𠋫
Old Chinese	/*ɡoːʔ/	/*ɡoːs/

Definitions

后

1. ^† king; ruler; emperor

   后稷  ―  Hòujì  ―  Hou Ji, (literally, “Lord of Millet”) - legendary Chinese cultural hero and progenitor of the Zhou dynasty

2. ^⁜ queen; empress

   王后  ―  wánghòu  ―  queen

3. (chess) queen
4. a surname

Usage notes

• The surname 后 (hòu) is not to be confused with the surname 後／后 (hòu).

Compounds

• 仙后座 (Xiānhòuzuò)
• 元后
• 后冠 (hòuguān)
• 后土 (hòutǔ)
• 后妃 (hòufēi)
• 后帝 (hòudì)
• 后座 (hòuzuò)
• 后王 (hòuwáng)
• 后皇
• 后稷 (Hòujì)
• 后羿 (Hòuyì)
• 后羿射日
• 后辛
• 后辟
• 后里 (Hòulǐ)
• 夏后氏 (Xiàhòushì)
• 大天后宮
• 天后 (Tiānhòu)
• 太后 (tàihòu)
• 太皇太后 (tài huáng tàihòu)
• 川后
• 影后 (yǐnghòu)
• 慈安太后
• 慈禧太后 (Cíxǐ Tàihòu)
• 武后
• 母后 (mǔhòu)
• 王后 (wánghòu)
• 甄后
• 皇后 (huánghòu)
• 皇太后 (huángtàihòu)
• 皇天后土 (huángtiānhòutǔ)
• 稱王封后
• 竇太后
• 群后
• 蕭太后
• 西后
• 西太后 (Xītàihòu)
• 賀后罵殿／贺后骂殿
• 賈后
• 韋后
• 風后
• 馬后練服／马后练服
• 齊后破環／齐后破环

 

See also

Chess pieces in Mandarin · 國際象棋棋子／国际象棋棋子 (guójì xiàngqí qízǐ) (layout · text)
王 (wáng), 國王／国王 (guówáng)	后 (hòu), 皇后 (huánghòu)	車／车 (jū), 城堡 (chéngbǎo)	象 (xiàng), 主教 (zhǔjiào)	馬／马 (mǎ), 騎士／骑士 (qíshì)	兵 (bīng)

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of 后 – see 後 (“behind; rear; back; later; after; afterwards; etc.”). (This character is the simplified and variant form of 後).

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Usage notes

In the traditional-Chinese literate context, the use of 后 (hòu) as a variant of 後 is mostly confined to the occurrences in a few well-known historical texts such as the Great Learning (《大學》).

Japanese

Kanji

后

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: ぐ (gu)
• Kan-on: こう (kō, Jōyō)^{←こう (kou, historical)}
• Kan’yō-on: ご (go)、ごう (gō)
• Kun: きさき (kisaki, 后)、きさい (kisai, 后)

Compounds

• 皇(こう)后(ごう) (kōgō)
• 大后(コニオルク) (konioruku)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
后
こう Grade: 6
kan'on

From Middle Chinese 后 (MC huwX|huwH).

Affix

后(こう) • (kō) 

1. monarch, ruler, sovereign
2. empress, queen, or other female monarch

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 后(こう)稷(しょく) (kōshoku)
• 后(こう)妃(ひ) (kōhi)
• 王(おう)后(こう) (ōkō)
• 皇(こう)后(ごう) (kōgō)
• 皇(こう)太(たい)后(ごう) (kōtaigō)
• 三(さん)后(ごう) (sangō)
• 准(じゅ)后(ごう) (jugō)
• 太(たい)后(こう) (taikō)
• 母(ぼ)后(こう) (bokō)
• 立(りっ)后(こう) (rikkō)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
后
きさき Grade: 6
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
妃

Derivation unknown.

Possibly originally a contraction of 君幸 (kimi saki, literally “lordly good fortune”). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) きさき [kìsáꜜkì] (Nakadaka – [2])
• (Tokyo) きさき [kìsákí] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [kʲisa̠kʲi]

Noun

后(きさき) • (kisaki) 

1. an empress

   Synonym: 皇后 (kōgō)

2. any other wife of a male aristocrat, such as a queen

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 后(きさき)がね (kisakigane)
• 后(きさき)の宮(みや) (kisaki no miya)
• 后(きさき)腹(ばら) (kisakibara)
• 大(おお)后(きさき) (ōkisaki)
• 母(はは)后(きさき) (hahakisaki)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
后
きさい Grade: 6
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
皇后

/kisaki/ → /kisaĩ/ → /kisai/

Sound shift from kisaki above.

Appears to be less common in isolation than the kisaki reading above.

Noun

后(きさい) • (kisai) 

1. (uncommon, archaic) Same as きさき (kisaki) above
   • c. 1001–1014, Murasaki Shikibu, Genji Monogatari (Agemaki)

     「もし、世(よ)の中(なか)移(うつ)りて、帝(みかど)・后(きさい)の、思(おぼ)しおきつるままにも、おはしまさば...」

     “Moshi, yononaka utsurite, mikado, kisai no, oboshi-okitsuru mama ni mo, owashimasaba...”

     (please add an English translation of this example)

Derived terms

• 后(きさい)の宮(みや) (kisai no miya)
• 后(きさい)腹(ばら) (kisaibara)
• 大(おお)后(きさい) (ōkisai)

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
后
ご Grade: 6
kan'yōon

For pronunciation and definitions of 后 – see the following entry.

【後ご】2 [noun] later, afterwards, some time after the present [suffix] after

(This term, 后, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 后 (MC huwH).

Historical readings

• Recorded as Middle Korean ᅘᅮᇢ〮 (Yale: hhwúw) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448.
• Recorded as Middle Korean 후〯 (hwǔ) (Yale: hwǔ) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Pronunciation

• (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [ɸʷu]
• Phonetic hangul: [후]

Hanja

Wikisource

后 (eumhun 임금 후 (imgeum hu))

1. hanja form^? of 후 (“ruler; monarch”)
2. (suffix) hanja form^? of 후 (“queen; empress”)

Compounds

Compounds

• 후궁 (后宮, hugung)
• 후비 (后妃, hubi)
• 후직 (后稷, Hujik)
• 후토 (后土, huto)
• 곤후 (坤后, gonhu)
• 왕후 (王后, wanghu)
• 태후 (太后, taehu)
• 황후 (皇后, hwanghu)
• 황태후 (皇太后, hwangtaehu)
• 태황태후 (太皇太后, taehwangtaehu)

References

• 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [1]

Vietnamese

Han character

后: Hán Nôm readings: hậu

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.