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Different ways to to say "later",

Lungge
New in Town
Posts: 1
Joined: December 14th, 2012 2:54 pm

Different ways to to say "later",

Postby Lungge » December 14th, 2012 2:59 pm

Would like to understand differences in using 以后,然后,等一下,等一会,不久。。。。

community.chinese
New in Town
Posts: 2
Joined: December 20th, 2012 11:17 am

Re: Different ways to to say "later",

Postby community.chinese » December 20th, 2012 4:23 pm

等一下 and 等一会 can be used as a stand alone phrase meaning wait a second. The period of time you need to "wait" is shorter when people use 等一下 instead of 等一会.

然后 means then. It's usually used in the structure "先...然后...", meaning "first and then". For instance, 你先左转,然后直走. (You turn left first and then go straight)

以后 is talking about "in a while in the future" or "in the future". For instance, 以后你别去那儿了. (Don't go there again in the future)

不久 is the most formal word in this list. It means not long after. People usually don't say it in daily conversations.

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