後顧之憂
简 后顾之忧 · 繁 後顧之憂Meanings
- fears of trouble in the rear (idiom); family worries (obstructing freedom of action)
- worries about the future consequences
- often in negative expressions, meaning "no worries about anything"
Characters in this entry
- 後
- hòu · behind, rear, after; descendents
- 顧
- Look up this written character
- 之
- zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
- 憂
- Look up this written character
- 后
- hòu · queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 後) behind, rear, after
- 顾
- gù · look back; look at; look after
- 忧
- yōu · sad, grieved; grief, melancholy
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
4–4–1–1 · hou4 gu4 zhi1 you1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
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.
後顧之憂 · find source passages ↗ · 后顾之忧 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
hau6 gu3 zi1 jau1
Cantonese word readings for 後顧之憂. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
phrase
- (idiomatic) trouble back at home; family worries
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack