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後知後覺

简后知后觉 · 繁後知後覺

Mandarin · pinyin hòu zhī hòu jué

to realize in hindsight; to realize belatedly; to be late to the party

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Characters in this entry

後: hòu · behind, rear, after; descendents
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
覺: Look up this written character
后: hòu · queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 後) behind, rear, after
觉: jué · to wake up from sleep; conscious

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Mandarin tones

4–1–4–2 · hou4 zhi1 hou4 jue2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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後知後覺 · find source passages ↗ · 后知后觉 · 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) to only become aware of something after it has happened

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

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