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I firmly believe that every kanji has its own personality. And as with people or dogs (or most creatures), it takes a while to get to know a complex kanji. By “complex,” I don’t mean something like this:

Read as KYŪ or kuji, this crazy concoction means “lottery” (though “circuit board” would have been more fitting). It certainly looks complicated. But when I say “complex,” I mean a character with … well, with lots of character! That is, one with emotional depth and many sides to its personality, a kanji that sets a mood or conveys layers of meaning.

When you think of 後 (KŌ, GO, ato, ushi(ro)), which generally means “after” or “behind,” what associations would you expect such a kanji to have? Take a moment to think about it. Then, after reading today’s blog, see how your expectations matched up to the reality of 後!

Looking Back

As you might have guessed, 後 figures into words about reflecting on the past, but not nearly as many as I would have thought. Here’s what I could find:

後知恵 (atojie: hindsight)
     after + to know + wisdom

Together, the last two characters mean “wisdom.” When they stand alone as 知恵, the yomi is chie.

後口 (atokuchi: aftertaste, reminder)
     after + mouth

English speakers call it the aftermath. For the Japanese, it’s the aftermouth!

読後感 (dokugokan: one’s impression (of a book))
     to read + after + impression

In previous blogs, we’ve seen these:
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