后头

• Pinyin: hòu tou
• Hanzi breakdown: 后 = simplified from 後, meaning behind or after; 头 = 大 (big) + 一 — originally meaning head, used here as a directional suffix

Meaning

Behind; at the back; in the rear. A colloquial way to refer to the space or area behind something.

A spoken, informal variant of 后面. Common in northern Chinese dialects and casual conversation. Can refer to physical location (在房子后头, behind the house) or temporal sequence (后头再说, we'll talk about it later). Slightly more colloquial than 后面.

Examples

1. 你去后头看看有没有空位。 Go to the back and see if there are any free seats.
2. 学校后头有一个很大的操场。 There is a very large playground behind the school.
3. 这件事后头再说吧。 Let's talk about this later.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, colloquial, directions

Tone: casual

Do Say

• 车停在楼后头了。(The car is parked behind the building.)
• 后头还有很多人在排队。(There are still many people queuing at the back.)

Don't Say

• 请在后头签名 (In formal writing, use 后面 instead of 后头 — 后头 is too colloquial for official documents)

Origin & History

后 (hòu, back/behind/after) + 头 (tou, suffix indicating location) — a directional word with the locative suffix 头, forming a colloquial spatial term.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal