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 他 会 来 ，后来 又 说 不 来 了 。Tā shuō tā huì lái, hòulái yòu shuō bù lái le.He said he would come, but later he said that he's not coming.
• 他们 上周 吵架 了 ，后来 和好 了 。Tāmen shàng zhōu chǎojià le, hòulái hé hǎo le.They had a fight last week and they made up afterwards.
• 我 昨晚 走 得 早 ，不 知道 后来 发生 了 什么 。Wǒ zuówǎn zǒu de zǎo, bù zhīdào hòulái fāshēng le shénme.I left very early yesterday evening, so I don't know what happened afterwards.
• 空调 前天 修好 了 ，后来 又 坏了 。Kōngtiáo qiántiān xiūhǎo le, hòulái yòu huài le.I fixed the air conditioner last week, but it was broken again after that.
• 他们 在一起 差不多 三 年 ，后来 分手 了 。Tāmen zài yīqǐ chàbuduō sān nián, hòulái fēnshǒu le.They had been together for about three years. But they broke up afterwards.
• 开始 我 父母 不 同意 ，后来 他们 同意 了 。Kāishǐ wǒ fùmǔ bù tóngyì, hòulái tāmen tóngyì le.My parents disapproved in the beginning, but they approved later.
• 他 以前 是 厨师 ，后来当 了 餐厅 的 老板 。Tā yǐqián shì chúshī, hòulái dāng le cāntīng de lǎobǎn.He used to be chef. Afterwards he became the owner of the restaurant.
• 两年 前 她 是 兼职 老师 ，后来 做 了 全职 。Tā shì jiānzhí lǎoshī, hòulái zuò le quánzhí.She was a part time teacher two years ago. Afterwards she became full time.
• 我们 先 开了 一 个 网店 ，后来 又 开 了 这个 实体店 。Wǒmen xiān kāi le yī gè wǎng diàn, hòulái yòu kāi le zhège shítǐ diàn.We opened an online shop first, and then we opened this physical store.
• 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