# 后

| 后 | U+540E, &#21518; CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-540E |
| ← 名 [U+540D] | CJK Unified Ideographs | 吏 → [U+540F] |

## Translingual
### Han character

后 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+3, 6 strokes, cangjie input 竹一口 (HMR), four-corner 7226$_1$, 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

* 后 (Written Standard Chinese)
* Hou (title) (English)
* 后姓

### 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 |
| | 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

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

#### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): hòu (hou$^4$)
    (Zhuyin): ㄏㄡˋ
* Cantonese
    (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): hau$^6$
    (Taishan, Wiktionary): heu$^5$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): heu
    (Hailu, HRS): heu$^˖$
    (Meixian, Guangdong): hêu$^4$
* Eastern Min (BUC): hâiu
* Southern Min
    (Hokkien, POJ): hiō / hiǒ / hō͘
    (Teochew, Peng'im): hou$^6$
* Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): $^6$gheu
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: hòu
*** Zhuyin: ㄏㄡˋ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: hòu
*** Wade–Giles: hou$^4$
*** Yale: hòu
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: how
*** Palladius: хоу (xou)
*** Sinological IPA : /xoʊ̯⁵¹/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: hau$^6$
*** Yale: hauh
*** Cantonese Pinyin: hau$^6$
*** Guangdong Romanization: heo$^6$
*** Sinological IPA : /hɐu̯²²/
** (Taishanese, Taicheng)
*** Wiktionary: heu$^5$
*** Sinological IPA : /heu³²/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: heu
*** Hakka Romanization System: heu
*** Hagfa Pinyim: heu$^4$
*** Sinological IPA: /heu̯⁵⁵/
** (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
*** Hakka Romanization System: heu$^˖$
*** Sinological IPA: /heu³³/
** (Meixian)
*** Guangdong: hêu$^4$
*** Sinological IPA: /heu⁵³/
* Eastern Min
** (Fuzhou)
*** Bàng-uâ-cê: hâiu
*** Sinological IPA : /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: hou$^6$
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: hŏu
*** Sinological IPA : /hou³⁵/
* Wu
** (Northern: Shanghai)
*** Wugniu: $^6$gheu
*** MiniDict: gheu$^去$
*** Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): $^3$hheu
*** 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 | /ɦəu$^X$/ | /ɦəu$^H$/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /ɦəu$^X$/ | /ɦəu$^H$/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /ɣəu$^X$/ | /ɣəu$^H$/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /ɦəw$^X$/ | /ɦəw$^H$/ |
| Li Rong | /ɣu$^X$/ | /ɣu$^H$/ |
| Wang Li | /ɣəu$^X$/ | /ɣəu$^H$/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /ɣə̯u$^X$/ | /ɣə̯u$^H$/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | hòu | hòu |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | hau$^6$ | hau$^6$ |
* 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 | ‹ huw$^X$ › |
| 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
* (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) king; ruler; emperor
    后稷 ― Hòujì ― Hou Ji, (literally, “Lord of Millet”) - legendary Chinese cultural hero and progenitor of the Zhou dynasty
* (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) queen; empress
    王后 ― wánghòu ― queen
* (chess) queen
* 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》).

### References

* ↑ Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN

## Japanese
### Kanji

(Sixth grade kyōiku kanji)

#### Readings

* Go-on: ぐ (gu)
* Kan-on: こう (kō, Jōyō)
* 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)
* monarch, ruler, sovereign
* empress, queen, or other female monarch

##### 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 –)
* (Tokyo) きさき [kìsákí] (Heiban – [0])
* IPA: [kʲisa̠kʲi]

#### Noun

后(きさき) • (kisaki)
* an empress
    Synonym: 皇后 (kōgō)
* any other wife of a male aristocrat, such as a queen

##### 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)
* (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.) :

### References

* ↑ 季旭昇，2004《說文新證》，台北：藝文印書館印行，2014年9月第二版。p.708-709
* 1 2 3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

## Korean
### Etymology

From Middle Chinese 后 (MC huwH).
* 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: [ɸʷu]
* Phonetic hangul: [후]

### Hanja

Wikisource 后 (eumhun 임금 후 (imgeum hu))
* hanja form of 후 (“ruler; monarch”)
* (suffix) hanja form of 후 (“queen; empress”)

#### Compounds

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

### References

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

## Vietnamese
### Han character

后: Hán Nôm readings: hậu
* This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.