后天
hòutiān
The English phrase 'day after tomorrow' is translated into Chinese as 后天 (hòutiān).
后天 is used to refer to the day after tomorrow. It can function as a noun to name the day, or as an adverb to mean 'on the day after tomorrow' or 'in two days'.
Meaning: day after tomorrow (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 后天 is composed of 后 (hòu), meaning 'after' or 'behind' and 天 (tiān), meaning 'day'.
Which one should you use?
While 后天 (hòutiān) refers to the day after tomorrow, the term 前天 (qiántiān) is used for the day before yesterday.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Hong Kong, the colloquial Cantonese phrase for 'day after tomorrow' is 後日.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The term 后天 can function as both a noun and an adverb in a sentence without changing its form.
How do you pronounce it?
hòutiān
Did you know?
- The term 后天 can be used in a medical or biological sense to describe 'acquired' traits, as opposed to 先天 (xiāntiān), which refers to 'innate' or 'congenital' traits.
- If you want to emphasize that something is happening 'the very next day' after tomorrow, you might use the word 大后天 (dàhòutiān). This adds the character for 'big' to indicate a further leap in time.
- The word 天 (tiān) in 后天 means 'day' but also means 'sky' and 'heaven'. In ancient Chinese thought, the movement of the 'heaven' governed the calendar of 'days'.
Examples in context
- 会议将在后天于东京举行。The conference is to be held in Tokyo the day after tomorrow.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use 后天 to indicate when an event will be held.Tatoeba #8727843 by crescat, translation #22478 by CK
- 我今天、明天还是后天清理我的房间有什么不同吗？Is there any difference whether I clean my room today, tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow?This sentence demonstrates how to use 后天 when listing different days.Tatoeba #5085552 by Jubilee11, translation #5085458 by Airvian
- 请后天来吧。Please come the day after tomorrow.This sentence shows how to use 后天 when making a request for a specific time.Tatoeba #351230 by zhouj1955, translation #8316003 by AlanF_US
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a plan to go to the cinema.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我们后天去看电影吗？Wǒmen hòutiān qù kàn diànyǐng ma?Shall we go see a movie the day after tomorrow?
- 俊杰 Junjie后天可以，我那天有空。Hòutiān kěyǐ, wǒ nàtiān yǒu kòng.The day after tomorrow works, I am free then.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen好啊，那我们后天见。Hǎo a, nà wǒmen hòutiān jiàn.Great, then see you the day after tomorrow.
- 俊杰 Junjie没问题，到时候见。Méi wèntí, dào shíhòu jiàn.No problem, see you then.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
