今后
jīn hoù · HSK 2
in the future
📅➡️ 今 (now) + 后 (after) = from now on, hereafter
今 means now or today; 后 means after or behind. Together they mark time stretching forward from the present moment — henceforth, from now on. Common in formal writing and announcements about future conduct.
后 — 厂 cliff + 一 + 口 mouth
Originally depicted a ruler or sovereign issuing commands, showing a figure with a mouth giving orders. It came to mean 'queen' or 'empress.' In modern simplified Chinese, 后 also absorbed the meaning 'behind/after' from the traditional character 後, so context decides which sense applies.