{"id":181295,"date":"2013-07-11T12:41:01","date_gmt":"2013-07-11T16:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/vsvs\/"},"modified":"2025-02-23T23:10:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T04:10:54","slug":"after-in-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/after-in-chinese\/","title":{"rendered":"\u7136\u540e vs \u4e4b\u540e vs \u4ee5\u540e: How to Say “After” in Chinese"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u7136\u540e<\/strong>, \u4ee5\u540e<\/strong> and \u4e4b\u540e<\/strong> all mean “after” or “behind,” but there are certain times when you should only use one and not the others. In this guide, we’ll go over the nuances in all of their meanings, how to use them correctly and when to use each one.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u7136\u540e (r\u00e1n h\u00f2u)<\/em><\/h2>\n

Meaning:<\/strong> Then; after that; afterwards<\/p>\n

\u7136\u540e is used to signify the passing of time, especially when narrating a story or telling a sequence of events. It’s similar to how in English, there’s first, then, last\/finally. For example, when you go on vacation you first check into the hotel and then go to your room to freshen up.<\/p>\n

Now let’s look at some examples in Chinese:<\/p>\n

\u9996\u5148\uff0c\u628a\u9e21\u86cb\u6253\u6563\uff0c\u8fd9\u4e2a\u5e94\u8be5\u6ca1\u5565\u53ef\u8bf4\u7684\uff0c\u65e0\u975e\u5c31\u662f\u628a\u9e21\u86cb\u78d5\u5728\u7897\u91cc\uff0c\u7136\u540e\u62ff\u7740\u7b77\u5b50 … \u7136\u540e\u5207\u8471\u82b1 \u3002<\/strong>
\n(sh\u01d2u xi\u0101n, b\u01ce j\u012b d\u00e0n d\u01ce s\u01cen, zh\u00e8 g\u00e8 y\u012bng g\u0101i m\u00e9i sh\u00e1 k\u011b shu\u014d de, w\u00fa f\u0113i ji\u00f9 sh\u00ec b\u01ce j\u012b d\u00e0n k\u0113 z\u00e0i w\u01cen l\u01d0, r\u00e1n h\u00f2u n\u00e1 zhe ku\u00e0i zi … r\u00e1n h\u00f2u qi\u0113 c\u014dng hu\u0101.)<\/em>
\nFirst, beat the eggs, this should be straight forward, just beat the eggs in the bowl, then take the chopsticks … then cut the green onions.<\/p>\n

\u4e3a\u4e86\u589e\u52a0\u8425\u6536\uff0c\u5230\u4e86\u51ac\u5b63\uff0c\u7597\u517b\u9662\u7559\u4e0b\u7684\u5de5\u4f5c\u4eba\u5458\u5c31\u5f00\u59cb\u5305\u997a\u5b50\uff0c\u7136\u540e\u901f\u51bb\u8d77\u6765\u9001\u5230\u4e0a\u7ea7\u5355\u4f4d\uff0c\u4ee5\u6b64\u83b7\u5f97\u4e00\u70b9\u6536\u5165\u3002<\/strong>
\n(w\u00e8i le z\u0113ng ji\u0101 y\u00edng sh\u014du, d\u00e0o le d\u014dng j\u00ec, li\u00e1o y\u01ceng yu\u00e0n li\u00fa xi\u00e0 de g\u014dng zu\u00f2 r\u00e9n yu\u00e1n ji\u00f9 k\u0101i sh\u01d0 b\u0101o ji\u01ceo zi, r\u00e1n h\u00f2u s\u00f9 d\u00f2ng q\u01d0 l\u00e1i s\u00f2ng d\u00e0o sh\u00e0ng j\u00ed d\u0101n w\u00e8i, y\u01d0 c\u01d0 hu\u00f2 d\u00e9 y\u012b di\u01cen sh\u014du r\u00f9.)<\/em>
\nIn order to increase revenue during the winter, the nursing home staff made dumplings, and then froze them, and sent them to higher level units to earn a little more money.<\/p>\n

\u5148\u5728Word\u6216\u8005\u8bb0\u4e8b\u672c\u4e2d\u64b0\u5199\u6587\u7ae0\uff0c\u7136\u540e\u518d\u5c06\u5176\u590d\u5236\u5230WordPress\u7b49\u535a\u5ba2\u5e73\u53f0\u662f\u5927\u90e8\u5206\u7528\u6237\u7684\u505a\u6cd5\u3002<\/strong>
\n(xi\u0101n z\u00e0i Word hu\u00f2 zh\u011b j\u00ec sh\u00ec b\u011bn zh\u014dng zhu\u00e0n xi\u011b w\u00e9n zh\u0101ng, r\u00e1n h\u00f2u z\u00e0i ji\u0101ng q\u00ed f\u00f9 zh\u00ec d\u00e0o WordPress d\u011bng b\u00f3 k\u00e8 p\u00edng t\u00e1i sh\u00ec d\u00e0 b\u00f9 fen y\u00f2ng h\u00f9 de zu\u00f2 f\u01ce.)<\/em>
\nWriting a rough draft in Word or Notepad first, and then copying it into the WordPress blog platform is the typical practice of most users.<\/p>\n

\u4ee5\u540e (y\u01d0 h\u00f2u)<\/em><\/h2>\n

Meaning:<\/strong> After; afterwards; later; hereafter; from now on<\/p>\n

\u4ee5\u540e is refers to the future, that later on or from here on out “X” will happen or not happen. If your friend is always 20 minutes late for dinner, you could say that from now on, you’ll arrive 15-20 after the time you agreed upon.<\/p>\n

Here are some examples:<\/p>\n

\u5f53\u57ce\u5e02\u5165\u591c\u4ee5\u540e\uff0c\u534e\u706f\u521d\u4e0a\uff0c\u666f\u8272\u8ff7\u4eba\uff0c\u4e00\u5929\u66b4\u623e\u4e4b\u6c14\u6e10\u6563\uff0c\u662f\u65f6\u5019\u653e\u677e\u81ea\u5df1\u4e86\u3002<\/strong>
\n(d\u0101n\u0261 ch\u00e9ng sh\u00ec r\u00f9 y\u00e8 y\u01d0 h\u00f2u, hu\u00e1 d\u0113ng ch\u016b sh\u00e0ng, j\u01d0ng s\u00e8 m\u00ed r\u00e9n, y\u00ec ti\u0101n b\u00e0o l\u00ec zh\u012b q\u00ec ji\u00e0n s\u00e0n, sh\u00ec sh\u00ed hou f\u00e0ng s\u014dng z\u00ecj\u01d0 le.)<\/em>
\nAfter the city is dark, when the lights first turn on, with mesmerizing sights, the whole day’s noise gradually fades, it’s time to relax.<\/p>\n

\u5218\u7fd4\u7ed3\u675f\u8bad\u7ec3\u56de\u56fd\uff0c\u88ab\u544a\u77e5\u4ee5\u540e\u518d\u4e5f\u4e0d\u7528\u6015\u811a\u4f24\u4e86\u3002<\/strong>
\n(li\u00fa xi\u00e1ng ji\u00e9 sh\u00f9 x\u00f9n li\u00e0n hu\u00ed gu\u00f3, b\u00e8i g\u00e0o zh\u012b y\u01d0 h\u00f2u z\u00e0i y\u011b b\u00fa y\u00f2ng p\u00e0 ji\u01ceo sh\u0101ng le.)<\/em>
\nLiu Xiang finished training and returned home, he was told that from now on he would never need to be afraid of hurting his foot.<\/p>\n

\u6bcf\u5de5\u4f5c2\u4e2a\u5c0f\u65f6\u4ee5\u540e\u5c31\u5e94\u8be5\u7ad9\u8d77\u6765\u8ba9\u773c\u775b\u4f11\u606f\u4e00\u4e0b\u3002<\/strong>
\n(m\u011bi g\u014dng zu\u00f2 2 g\u00e8 xi\u01ceo sh\u00ed y\u01d0 h\u00f2u ji\u00f9 y\u012bng g\u0101i zh\u00e0n q\u01d0 l\u00e1i r\u00e0ng y\u01cen j\u012bng xi\u016b xi y\u00ed xi\u00e0.)<\/em>
\nAfter every time you work for two hours, you should stand up and allow your eyes to rest a bit.<\/p>\n

\u4e4b\u540e (zh\u012b h\u00f2u)<\/em><\/h2>\n

Meaning:<\/strong> After; behind; afterwards<\/p>\n

\u4e4b\u540e can be used to mean immediately after, literally\/physically behind something or afterwards (like \u7136\u540e). For example, I parked the car behind<\/strong><\/em> 53rd Street.<\/p>\n

Let’s look at some examples:<\/p>\n

\u66b4\u8dcc\u4e4b\u540e\u7a81\u53d1\u91cd\u5927\u5229\u597d\uff0cA\u80a1\u6709\u671b\u8fce\u6765\u62a5\u590d\u6027\u53cd\u5f39\u3002<\/strong>
\n(b\u00e0o di\u0113 zh\u012b h\u00f2u t\u016b f\u0101 zh\u00f2ng d\u00e0 l\u00ec h\u01ceo, A g\u01d4 y\u01d2u w\u00e0ng y\u00edng l\u00e1i b\u00e0o f\u00f9 x\u00ecng f\u01cen t\u00e1n.)<\/em>
\nAfter a slump, the sudden positive A shares are expected to rebound.<\/p>\n

\u8bf8\u745b\u51fa\u751f\u4e8e1982\u5e74\uff0c2004\u5e74\u8003\u53d6\u4e0a\u6d77\u5e02\u53f0\u7403\u534f\u4f1a\u7684\u8d44\u8d28\u8bc1\u660e\uff0c\u4e4b\u540e\u5979\u4fbf\u5f00\u59cb\u4e86\u6267\u6cd5\u3002<\/strong>
\n(zh\u016b y\u012bng ch\u016b sh\u0113ng y\u00fa 1982 ni\u00e1n, 2004 ni\u00e1n k\u01ceo q\u01d4 sh\u00e0ng h\u01cei sh\u00ec t\u00e1i qi\u00fa xi\u00e9 hu\u00ec de z\u012b zh\u00ec zh\u00e8ng m\u00edng, zh\u012b h\u00f2u t\u0101 bi\u00e0n k\u0101i sh\u01d0 le zh\u00ed f\u01ce.)<\/em>
\nZhu Ying was born in 1982, got into the Shanghai Billiards Association in 2004 to obtain credentials, and afterwards, she began law enforcement.<\/p>\n

\u6211\u4f1a\u5728\u653e\u5b66\u4e4b\u540e\u53bb\u56fe\u4e66\u9986\u3002<\/strong>
\n(w\u01d2 hu\u00ec z\u00e0i f\u00e0ng xu\u00e9 zh\u012b h\u00f2u q\u00f9 t\u00fa sh\u016b gu\u01cen.)<\/em>
\nI will go to the library after school.<\/p>\n

When to Use \u7136\u540e vs \u4e4b\u540e vs \u4ee5\u540e<\/h2>\n

\u7136\u540e vs \u4e4b\u540e<\/h3>\n

Out of the three main uses for \u4e4b\u540e, one of the meanings can be interchanged with \u7136\u540e. However, when using \u7136\u540e, the amount of time between events can be longer compared to \u4e4b\u540e (which implies more of an “immediately after” meaning).<\/p>\n

\u7136\u540e is usually used after a “first” or “first of all.”<\/p>\n

\u4e4b\u540e vs \u4ee5\u540e<\/h3>\n

When using \u4ee5\u540e there is a gap of time that will have lapsed, like the next time you’ll have Christmas dinner. When using \u4e4b\u540e, the lapsed time is a lot shorter than it would be when using \u4ee5\u540e, such as what to do immediately after you finish dinner.<\/p>\n

In a situation where the time isn’t clear, either could be used.<\/p>\n

\u4ee5\u540e vs \u7136\u540e<\/h3>\n

The main difference between these two is that \u4ee5\u540e is used at the end of a sentence but \u7136\u540e is at the beginning (of a sentence, clause or phrase).<\/p>\n

One other difference is that \u4ee5\u540e could be used along with words that express a certain time but \u7136\u540e can’t.<\/p>\n

\u7136\u540e vs \u4e4b\u540e vs \u4ee5\u540e Practice Quiz<\/h2>\n

Each of the following sentences uses either \u7136\u540e, \u4e4b\u540e or \u4ee5\u540e. Fill in the blank with the correct one and check your answers below.<\/p>\n

1. \u6211\u5403\u4e86\u996d\uff0c___\u53bb\u6563\u6b65\u3002<\/strong>(w\u01d2 ch\u012b le f\u00e0n, ___ q\u00f9 s\u00e0n b\u00f9.)<\/em> \u2014 I ate dinner, then went for a walk.<\/p>\n

2. \u6bd5\u4e1a___\uff0c\u6211\u60f3\u53bb\u65c5\u884c\u3002<\/strong>(b\u00ec y\u00e8 ___, w\u01d2 xi\u01ceng q\u00f9 l\u01da x\u00edng.)<\/em> \u2014 After graduation, I want to travel.<\/p>\n

3. \u5403\u996d___\uff0c\u6211\u53bb\u6563\u6b65\u3002<\/strong>(ch\u012b f\u00e0n ___, w\u01d2 q\u00f9 s\u00e0n b\u00f9.)<\/em> \u2014 After eating, I go for a walk.<\/p>\n

4. \u5979\u5b8c\u6210\u4e86\u4f5c\u4e1a\uff0c___\u770b\u7535\u89c6\u3002<\/strong>(t\u0101 w\u00e1n ch\u00e9ng le zu\u00f2 y\u00e8, ___ k\u00e0n di\u00e0n sh\u00ec.)<\/em> \u2014 She finished her homework, then watched TV.<\/p>\n

5. \u8003\u8bd5___\uff0c\u6211\u4eec\u53ef\u4ee5\u653e\u677e\u4e00\u4e0b\u3002<\/strong>(k\u01ceo sh\u00ec ___, w\u01d2 men k\u011b y\u01d0 f\u00e0ng s\u014dng y\u012b xi\u00e0.)<\/em> \u2014 After the exam, we can relax a bit.<\/p>\n

6. \u5b66\u4f1a\u6e38\u6cf3___\uff0c\u6211\u53ef\u4ee5\u53bb\u6d77\u8fb9\u73a9\u3002<\/strong>(xu\u00e9 hu\u00ec y\u00f3u y\u01d2ng ___, w\u01d2 k\u011b y\u01d0 q\u00f9 h\u01cei bi\u0101n w\u00e1n.)<\/em> \u2014 After learning to swim, I can go to the beach to play.<\/p>\n

7. \u5341\u5e74___\uff0c\u57ce\u5e02\u53d8\u5316\u5f88\u5927\u3002<\/strong>(sh\u00ed ni\u00e1n ___, ch\u00e9ng sh\u00ec bi\u00e0n hu\u00e0 h\u011bn d\u00e0.)<\/em> \u2014 Ten years later, the city changed a lot.<\/p>\n

8. \u6211\u4eec\u53bb\u8d85\u5e02\u4e70\u4e1c\u897f\uff0c___\u56de\u5bb6\u505a\u996d\u3002<\/strong>(w\u01d2 men q\u00f9 ch\u0101o sh\u00ec m\u01cei d\u014dng x\u012b, ___ hu\u00ed ji\u0101 zu\u00f2 f\u00e0n.)<\/em> \u2014 We went to the supermarket to buy things, then went home to cook.<\/p>\n

9. \u6512\u591f\u94b1___\uff0c\u6211\u60f3\u4e70\u623f\u5b50\u3002<\/strong>(z\u01cen g\u00f2u qi\u00e1n ___, w\u01d2 xi\u01ceng m\u01cei f\u00e1ng zi.)<\/em> \u2014 After saving enough money, I want to buy a house.<\/p>\n

10. \u4ed6\u5148\u6d17\u6fa1\uff0c___\u7761\u89c9\u3002<\/strong>(t\u0101 xi\u0101n x\u01d0 z\u01ceo, ___ shu\u00ec ji\u00e0o.)<\/em> \u2014 He took a shower first, then went to sleep.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Answer key:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u7136\u540e<\/strong> and \u4e4b\u540e<\/strong> are okay<\/p>\n

2. \u4ee5\u540e<\/strong> and \u4e4b\u540e<\/strong> are okay<\/p>\n

3. \u4e4b\u540e<\/strong><\/p>\n

4. \u7136\u540e<\/strong><\/p>\n

5. \u4e4b\u540e<\/strong><\/p>\n

6. \u4ee5\u540e<\/strong> and \u4e4b\u540e<\/strong> are okay<\/p>\n

7. \u4ee5\u540e<\/strong> and \u4e4b\u540e<\/strong> are okay<\/p>\n

8. \u7136\u540e<\/strong> and \u4e4b\u540e<\/strong> are okay<\/p>\n

9. \u4ee5\u540e<\/strong> and \u4e4b\u540e<\/strong> are okay<\/p>\n

10. \u7136\u540e<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hopefully, this has helped you clear up the difference between these commonly confused terms. With practice, you’ll get it down in no time.<\/p>\n

And you can always bookmark or download this post for reference, and use FluentU<\/a> to reinforce what you’ve just learned.

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