ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

候 hòu waiting for

How to remember 候: 亻 person + 丨 stick + open box + 矢 arrow = waiting for. At the archery range a person leans on a stick beside an open box of arrows, patiently waiting for a turn to shoot.

  • 341. most frequent character
  • HSK 1
  • 10 strokes
  • Radical 人

Component breakdown

候 = 亻 person + 丨 stick + open box + 矢 arrow

  • 亻 person
  • 丨 stick
  • open box
  • 矢 arrow
The Gushi story

At the archery range a person leans on a stick beside an open box of arrows, patiently waiting for a turn to shoot.

How it is used

  • Mostly bound in 时候 (shíhou) 'time/moment' - 什么时候 (shénme shíhou) when?, 小时候 (xiǎoshíhou) in childhood.
  • On its own sense it means 'to wait/await': 等候 (děnghòu) wait, 候车 (hòuchē) wait for a bus.
  • 气候 (qìhòu) means climate (the long-term pattern), distinct from 天气 (tiānqì) the day's weather.

Words with 候

Example sentences

  • 这时候天黑了。 Zhè shíhou tiān hēi le.The sun went down at this time.
  • 沙漠的气候很干燥。 Shāmò de qìhòu hěn gānzào.The climate of the desert is very dry.