后来 hòu lái
“afterwards; later; newly arrived”
time wordHSK 4 · 2021 list level 2Traditional 後來
新HSK等级2025 HSK 3.0 syllabus level
后来 appears in the November 2025 exam syllabus in the following numbered entry. Levels refer to the listed reading and use, not every meaning.
- Entry 671: 后来 hòulái — Level 3; official annotation 3 (名). PDF page 96
Separate from the HSK 2.0 and 2021 list labels above. Compare the three lists.
用法How to use 后来
后来 means 'later' or 'afterwards' in a past story: it marks what happened next after an earlier event. It usually appears at the start of a clause or after the subject, often in patterns like 先……后来…… or 开始……后来……. It is not used for future plans from the present.
例句Example sentences
- 我们先去看了电影，后来去吃饭了。wǒ men xiān qù kàn le diàn yǐng, hòu lái qù chī fàn le.We went to see a movie first, and later went to eat.
- 他一开始不想去，后来还是去了。tā yì kāi shǐ bù xiǎng qù, hòu lái hái shì qù le.At first he didn't want to go, but later he went anyway.
- 后来我才知道他是我的新同事。hòu lái wǒ cái zhī dao tā shì wǒ de xīn tóng shì.Only later did I find out he was my new colleague.
易混词Easily confused
后来vs以后
以后 can mean 'after' now or after a past point and is used for future plans; 后来 only describes a later point in a past story.