候 (hòu): to wait, to inquire after, to watch
候 (hòu) is a Chinese character meaning “to wait.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (semantic) and 矦 (phonetic). It ranks #341 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 候 person. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- to wait
- to inquire after
- to watch
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 候 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 候
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 时候noun | shí hou | time | 1 |
| 有时候adverb | yǒu shí hou | sometimes | 2 |
| 小时候noun | xiǎo shí hou | in one's childhood | 2 |
| 等候verb | děng hòu | to wait | 5 |
| 气候noun | qì hòu | (meteorology) climate | 4 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 候选人noun | hòu xuǎn rén | candidate |
| 问候verb | wèn hòu | to give one's respects |
| 伺候verb | cì hou | to serve |
| 稍候verb | shāo hòu | to wait a moment |
| 候补verb | hòu bǔ | to wait to fill a vacancy |
| 全天候adjective | quán tiān hòu | all-weather |
| 候选verb | hòu xuǎn | candidate (attributive) |
| 恭候verb | gōng hòu | to look forward to sth |
| 守候verb | shǒu hòu | to wait for |
| 听候verb | tīng hòu | to wait for (orders, a decision, a judgment) |
| 火候noun | huǒ hou | heat control |
| 候诊室noun | hòu zhěn shì | waiting room (at clinic, hospital) |
| 症候noun | zhèng hòu | illness |
| 静候verb | jìng hòu | to wait quietly |
| 候审verb | hòu shěn | awaiting trial |
候 appears in 82 compound words: 26 as the first character, 51 as the last, and 23 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 候 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
请稍等片刻，他马上就过来。
Qǐng shāo děng piànkè, tā mǎshàng jiù guòlai.
Please wait a moment; he will be here soon.
春節連假收心大作戰 慎防孩子「開學症候群」5大建議
chūn 節 連 jiǎ shōu xīn dà zuò 戰 shèn fáng hái zǐ 開 學 zhèng hòu qún dà jiàn 議
Back-to-School Transition Guide: 5 Key Tips to Help Children Avoid "Back-to-School Syndrome" During the Spring Festival Break
紓解收假日金門候補人潮 軍機、國籍航空協助載客
紓 jiě shōu jiǎ rì jīn 門 hòu 補 rén cháo 軍 機 國 jí háng kōng 協 zhù 載 kè
Relieving the waiting crowds in Kinmen during the holiday season.
搭完郵輪有「離船症候群」?30-60歲女性最常見
dā wán 郵 輪 yǒu 離 chuán zhèng hòu qún ? 歲 nǚ xìng zuì cháng 見
"Disembarkation Syndrome" After Cruise? Most Common in Women Aged 30-60
日媒民調:選民投票最重視候選人「是否支持高市」
rì méi mín 調 選 mín tóu piào zuì chóng 視 hòu 選 rén shì fǒu zhī chí gāo shì
Japanese Media Poll: Voters' Support for Takayama City is Most Important
日媒民調:選民最重視候選人是否支持高市
rì méi mín 調 選 mín zuì chóng 視 hòu 選 rén shì fǒu zhī chí gāo shì
Japanese media poll: Voters most concerned about candidate's support for Takashi City
你好汤姆！你什么时候来的？
Nǐhǎo Tāngmǔ! nǐ shénmeshíhou lái de?
Hello Tom! When did you come?
你知道音乐家什么时候来这儿吗？
Nǐ zhīdào yīnyuèjiā shénme shíhou lái zhèr ma?
Do you know when the musician will come here?
我出去的时候有人打我电话吗？
Wǒ chūqù de shíhou yǒurén dǎ wǒ diànhuà ma?
Did anyone call me while I was out?
你明天这个时候会是在做什么？
Nǐ míngtiān zhège shíhou huì shì zài zuò shénme?
What'll you be doing at this time tomorrow?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 亻 (person) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 候 (hòu) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 候 have?
What is the radical of 候?
What are the components of 候?
What are common words containing 候?
What characters sound the same as 候 (hòu)?
Is 候 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 候 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.