Sequencing past events with "houlai"

"⋯⋯, 后来⋯⋯" (..., hòulái...) is used to sequence past events in the same way that "Afterward..." is in English. Something very important to note is that 后来 can only be used with two events that have already occurred.

Structure

Past Event 1 ，后来 ，Past Event 2

Examples

Here are some examples of this pattern in action:

• 他 说 要 跟 我们 一起 去 ，后来 又 说 不 去 了 。 Tā shuō yào gēn wǒmen yīqǐ qù, hòulái yòu shuō bù qù le.He said he would come with us, but suddenly he told us that he's not going.
• 这 是 一 个 很 有名 的 小说 ，后来 拍成 了 电影 。Zhè shì yī gè hěn yǒumíng de xiǎoshuō, hòulái pāi chéng le diànyǐng.It's a famous novel, which was made into a movie afterwards.
• 我 小时候 很 喜欢 弹 钢琴 ，后来 学习 太 忙 ，就 不 弹 了 。Wǒ xiǎoshíhou hěn xǐhuan tán gāngqín, hòulái xuéxí tài máng, jiù bù tán le.I like to play piano. But school's been too busy and then I stopped.
• 我 昨天 修好 了 ，后来 又 坏了 。 Wǒ zuótiān xiūhǎo le, hòulái yòu huài le.I fixed it yesterday, but it was broken again after that.
• 开始 他 不 同意 ，后来 他 同意 了。 Kāishǐ tā bù tóngyì, hòulái tā tóngyì le.At first he didn't agree, but then he did later.
• 他们 在 一起 差不多 三年 ，不过 后来 分手 了。Tāmen zài yīqǐ chàbuduō sān nián, bùguò hòulái fēnshǒu le.They've been together for about three years. But they broke up afterwards.
• 昨天 我们 一起 吃 了 海鲜 ，后来 她 拉肚子 了。Zuótiān wǒmen yīqǐ chī le hǎixiān, hòulái tā lādùzi le.She ate seafood yesterday, but then she had a diarrhea.
• 他 在 这个 公司 工作 了 五 年 ，后来 跳槽 了 。Tā zài zhège gōngsī gōngzuò le wǔ nián, hòulái tiàocáo le.He worked in this company for five years, but then he made a job-hopping.
• 我 妹妹 的 手机 丢 了 ，后来 我 给 她 买 了 一 个 新的 。 Wǒ mèimei de shǒujī diū le, hòulái wǒ gěi tā mǎi le yī gè xīn de.My little sister lost her cell phone. Afterwards, I bought a new one for her.
• 北京 以前 叫 北平 ，后来 改 成 了 北京。 Běijīng yǐqián jiào běipíng, hòulái gǎi chéng le Běijīng. Beijing used to be called Beiping and got changed into Beijing later.

See also

• Before and after with "zhiqian" and "zhihou"
• Saying "ever since" with "yilai"
• In the future in general
• Comparing "houlai" and "ranhou"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 267) →buy