随后
suí hoù · HSK 5
soon after
⏭️ 随 = follow + 后 = after; follow-after = soon after
随 (suí) means to follow or comply; 后 (hòu) means after or behind. Together they literally mean follow-after, giving the sense of something happening soon afterward in sequence.
随 — 辶 (walk) + 阝 (mound) + 有 phonetic
随 combines the walk radical 辶 with a phonetic component derived from 隋. The original sense is 'to follow along a path,' from the walking radical suggesting movement after someone. Over time it broadened to mean 'follow,' 'accompany,' or 'comply with.'
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.