后盾
hoù dùn · HSK 7
support
🛡️ 后盾 = behind + shield: the shield at your back is your backing/support
后 means back or behind; 盾 means shield. Together a back-shield = the support or backing someone provides. Think of an ally who is your 后盾 — the shield covering you from behind.
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.