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verb HSK 4
Traditional 推後
tuī hòu
to postpone · to delay · to push back

Meaning

推后 means to move something to a later time or date. It combines 推 (to push) with 后 (behind/later), literally meaning 'to push backward' in time. This word is commonly used when rescheduling meetings, events, or deadlines.

Usage

推后 is a neutral, formal term frequently used in workplace and official contexts. It's interchangeable with 延迟 or 推迟 in most situations. When stating the new time, use 推后 + time amount (e.g., 推后一周 'postpone by one week') or 推后到 + specific date.

Examples

  1. 01
    由于下雨，我们决定把活动推后一天。
    Yóu yú xià yǔ, wǒ men jué dìng bǎ huó dòng tuī hòu yī tiān.
    Due to the rain, we decided to postpone the event by one day.
  2. 02
    老板要求把项目截止日期推后到下个月。
    Lǎo bǎn yāo qiú bǎ xiàng mù jié zhǐ rì qī tuī hòu dào xià gè yuè.
    The boss requested that the project deadline be pushed back to next month.

Characters

Common collocations

  • 推后时间
    tuī hòu shí jiān
    to postpone the time
  • 推后一周
    tuī hòu yī zhōu
    to postpone by one week
  • 推后到
    tuī hòu dào
    to postpone until
  • 把会议推后
    bǎ huì yì tuī hòu
    to postpone the meeting

Antonyms

Origin

The compound uses the spatial metaphor of 'pushing' (推) something 'backward' (后) to represent moving an event later in time, a common conceptual mapping in Chinese.

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