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後學

简后学 · 繁後學

Mandarin · pinyin hòu xué

junior scholar or pupil in imperial China

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Characters in this entry

後: hòu · behind, rear, after; descendents
學: xué · learning, knowledge; school
后: hòu · queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 後) behind, rear, after
学: xué · learning, knowledge; school

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · hou4 xue2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

後學 · find source passages ↗ · 后学 · find source passages ↗

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(literary) young or junior scholar or student (often used as a modest term referring to oneself when addressing an elder in imperial China)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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