Comparing "yihou" and "zhihou"

If you are trying to explain what you did after a certain event, you might want to use "以后" (yǐhòu) or "之后" (zhīhòu). After all, they do both mean "after", right? Well, it turns out that there are a few rules that you need to be aware of before you use them.

Both indicates another event happened after a special time

In this case, these two words share a structure, so it is easy to see how they would be easily confused. Here's the structure:

Subject + Special Time + 以后/之后 + Action

In situations where you have already done something and then after that you did something else, you can use "以后". The stipulation with this is that the time has to be explicitly said. That is, there has to be a time for "以后" to modify. Otherwise the sentence won't make sense.

Examples

• 下雨 以后/之后 空气 会 好 很 多。After it rains, the air will be a lot better.
• 结婚 以后/之后他们 有 了 两 个 宝宝。After getting married, they had two babies.
• 等 我 涨 工资 以后/之后请 你 吃饭。After I get a raise, I will treat you to a meal.
• 听到 这 个 消息 以后/之后，我 高兴 得 一 晚 上 没 睡。After I heard this news, I was so happy I couldn't sleep the whole night.

以后 means "in the future" all by itself

Now you might be thinking, "But '以后' means afterwards, why doesn't that work?" In this case, "以后" is just used to talk about the future in general. The meaning that you're probably thinking of comes from the first structure above.

以后, Comment

Examples

• 以后 再 也 不 来 这里 吃饭 了，又 贵 又 难吃。
• 以后 我 可能 会 移民 加拿大。
• 以后 的 事情 以后 再 说 吧。

之后 indicates another event happened after one all by itself

Compared to "以后", "之后" is a little more free. Not only can it happen in the same place, modifying the time, but it can also appear just on its own, meaning something along the lines of "then". While "以后" is dependent on the time, "之后" can stand by itself.

There is another structure that only works with "之后":

Subject + Event, 之后 + Action

Examples

• 我 要 先 回 家 把 东西 放 下，之后 去 咖啡 厅 找 你。I'm going to go home and drop my stuff of first, then go to the cafe to look for you.
• 去年 夏天 他 来 过 我 家，之后 再 也 没 见 到 他。Last summer, he came to my house. After that, I haven't seen him.
• 房子 涨价 之后，越 来 越 多 的 人 开始 买 房。After prices went up, more and more people started buying houses.

Right or Wrong

• 我 六 点 下班，下班 以后，我 去 跟 朋友 吃饭。I get off work at six. After I get off, I'm going to eat with friends.
• 我 六 点 下班，以后，我 去 跟 朋友 吃饭。Since there is nothing that "以后" modifies, this sentence doesn't work.
• 我 六 点 下班，之后，我 去 跟 朋友 吃饭。"之后" works in this sentence.
• 昨天 我 跟 朋友 吃饭以后去 了 酒吧。Yesterday, when my friends and I were done eating, we went to the bar.
• 昨天 我 跟 朋友 吃饭 了，以后，我们 去 酒吧。Again, since there is nothing for "以后" to modify, it's a bad sentence.
• 昨天 我 跟 朋友 吃饭 了，之后，我们 去 酒吧。"之后" works in this sentence.

See Also

• After a specific time
• In the future in general
• Before and after with "zhiqian" and "zhihou"
• Comparing "yihou" and "houlai"

Sources and Further Reading

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