How to Write 后 (hòu) — Meaning “behind; after; queen”

Imagine a queen (queen) standing on a stage with a microphone (the 口) in front of her, while her back is toward the crowd behind – so she is both 'queen' and 'behind'. The top stroke looks like a crown, and 口 is her face, helping you recall both meanings.

Write the top horizontal stroke first, then the left-falling stroke (撇), then the right-falling stroke (捺) – but note that 后 has only one horizontal at the top, not a full 厂. A common mistake is to add an extra stroke; the top should be a single flat line, not a roof shape. The bottom 口 should be centered and slightly narrower than the top strokes.

卟 (bǔ) is rare and means 'to divine' or is used in transliteration; it has 口 plus a small vertical stroke on top. 古 (gǔ) means 'ancient' and has a horizontal line above 口, but without the side strokes of 后. Visually, 后 has two diagonal strokes (like a person) above 口, while 古 is just a straight horizontal line above 口.

后 is very common in everyday words like 后面 (behind), 以后 (after), and 最后 (final). In formal or historical contexts, 后 can mean 'queen' or 'empress', as in 皇后 (empress). Note that for 'behind/after' it is often used as a suffix or in compound words, while as 'queen' it is usually standalone or in compounds like 后妃.

Common words containing 后 include: 后面 (hòu miàn) — behind; back; 以后 (yǐ hòu) — after; later; in the future; 最后 (zuì hòu) — Last / final.