後
後 — Behind
behind, back, later
On’yomiゴ (go)
On’yomiコウ (kou)
Kun’yomiのち (nochi)
Kun’yomiうしろ (ushiro)
Kun’yomiうしろ (ushiro)
Kun’yomiあと (ato)
Kun’yomiおくれる (okureru)
Stroke order (9 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 後
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 午後 | ごご gogo | afternoon; p.m. |
| 後 | あと ato | behind; rear; after |
| 今後 | こんご kongo | from now on; hereafter |
| 最後 | さいご saigo | end; conclusion; last |
| 戦後 | せんご sengo | postwar period; period after Second World War |
| 後半 | こうはん kouhan | second half; latter half |
Study notes
後 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 9 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #26 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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