候 (hòu) means Wait (state). Below are 24 of the 137 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
走的时 候 请关门。
Zǒu de shíhou qǐng guān mén.
Please close the door when you leave.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 关
你打算什么时 候 去？
Nǐ dǎsuàn shénme shíhou qù?
When are you planning to go?
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 打算
离开的时 候 请关灯。
Líkāi de shíhou qǐng guān dēng.
Please turn off the light when you leave.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 离开
他小时 候 想当医生。
Tā xiǎo shíhou xiǎng dāng yīshēng.
When he was small he wanted to be a doctor.
Dictionary example · HSK 4 · 当
Reading these is one thing; producing 候 yourself is another. Cloze in Context takes a sentence from this same bank, removes one word and asks you to put it back — beginner, intermediate and advanced.
From the graded readers
那时 候 只要十分钟。
nàshí hòu zhǐyào shífēn zhōng.
Then it only takes ten minutes.
Graded reader · HSK 1 · Going to School
中午的时 候 ，天气很热。
zhōngwǔ de / dì shíhou, tiānqì hěn rè.
By noon it was very hot.
Graded reader · HSK 1 · The Weather Today
天气好的时 候 ，我不坐车。
tiānqì hǎode shíhou, wǒ bù zuò chē.
When the weather's nice, I don't take the bus.
Graded reader · HSK 1 · Going to School
妈妈做鱼的时 候 ，它就来了。
māma zuò yú de / dì shíhou, tā jiù lái le / liǎo / liào.
The moment mum cooks fish, he shows up.
Graded reader · HSK 1 · My Cat
下雨的时 候 ，爸爸开车送我。
xiàyǔ de / dì shíhou, bàba kāichē sòng wǒ.
When it rains, dad drives me.
Graded reader · HSK 1 · Going to School
到山上的时 候 ，天还是黑的。
dào shānshàng de / dì shíhou, tiān háishì hēi de / dì.
When we got to the top it was still dark.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · A Trip With Friends
早上鸟叫的时 候 ，我就起床了。
zǎoshang niǎo jiào de / dì shíhou, wǒ jiù qǐchuáng le / liǎo / liào.
When the birds start in the morning, I get up.
Graded reader · HSK 2 · My New Room
From the travel phrasebook
候 车室在哪儿？
Hòuchēshì zài nǎr?
Where is the waiting hall?
Travel phrasebook · High-speed rail and the metro
押金什么时 候 退？
Yājīn shénme shíhou tuì?
When is the deposit returned?
Travel phrasebook · Hotel check-in
预计什么时 候 到？
Yùjì shénme shíhou dào?
When is it expected to arrive?
Travel phrasebook · Shipping and customs
方便的时 候 回我。
Fāngbiàn de shíhou huí wǒ.
Reply whenever it suits you.
Travel phrasebook · WeChat and staying in touch
提单什么时 候 能出？
Tídān shénme shíhou néng chū?
When will the bill of lading be issued?
Travel phrasebook · Shipping and customs
什么时 候 能答复我？
Shénme shíhou néng dáfù wǒ?
When can you come back to me?
Travel phrasebook · Quality problems and claims
From the grammar library
你什么时 候 来？
Nǐ shénme shíhou lái?
When are you coming?
Grammar library · HSK 1 · Question words stay in place
你是什么时 候 来的？
Nǐ shì shénme shíhou lái de?
When did you get here?
Grammar library · HSK 4 · 是…的 — emphasising the details
候 appears in 137 sentences on this site; the 24 shortest and most direct are shown. The rest are on the pages they were written for — the graded readers, the phrasebook and the grammar library.
Words that contain 候
Each of these has sentences of its own, so you can see the character doing a different job in each one.
Questions about 候
How is 候 used in a sentence?
This page shows 137 sentences using 候 (hòu, "Wait (state)"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Why do some sentences show 候 inside a longer word?
Because that is where a single character usually lives. Seeing 候 inside the words it builds is how the character stops being an isolated symbol and starts being something you can read.
Where can I see the full entry for 候?
The dictionary page for 候 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
Keep going
Read the full entry for 候, write a sentence of your own and check it in the Pinyin Annotator, or search the whole sentence bank for another word.
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