---
title: "过了 + length of time (after …) in Chinese Grammar: After …, With Examples"
description: "过了 + length of time (after …): after …; … went by. 过了 + a length of time says time went by: 过了一会儿 “after a while”. 4 real lines from stories, each word explained."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/time-passes"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[Chinese grammar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar)

# 过了 + length of time (after …)

After …; … went by

刺猬cìweihedgehog

过了 + a length of time says time went by: 过了一会儿 “after a while”.

## In stories

**过了一会儿**，她问我：“妈妈，太阳是什么颜色的？”

A little later she asks me, “Mum, what colour is the sun?”

[什么颜色？ · Colours in Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/colors-in-chinese#library-word-68-73) HSK 2

**过了一会儿**，爸爸回来了。

A little later, Dad came back.

[爸爸买的水 · Drinks in Chinese: Dad goes to buy drinks](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/drinks-in-chinese#library-word-103-108) HSK 2

**过了一会儿**，王老板说：“…

[星期五（上） · Friday (part 1)](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/friday-again-easy-chinese-time-loop-story-1#library-word-1142-1147) HSK 2

**过了一会儿**，它又跑走了。

After a while, it runs off again.

[星期五（下） · Friday (part 2)](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/friday-again-easy-chinese-time-loop-story-2#library-word-504-509) HSK 2

## Your turn

Write your own sentence with 过了 + length of time (after …). It's checked, and you'll see if the pattern is there.

[Read 什么颜色？](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/colors-in-chinese#library-word-68-73)

## More patterns

- [verb (+ 了) + duration (for how long) for … (how long … lasts)](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/duration)
- [verb + 了 + verb … briefly; … a little](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-le-v)
- [太 + adjective + 了 so …!](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/tai-le)
- [verb + 不了/得了 cannot …; can …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/v-bu-liao)
- [为了…(而)… in order to …, …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/weile-er)
- [快(要)…了 about to …](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar/kuai-le)

## Now read them in a real story

[**十两饺子**How to order dumplings in ChineseHSK 1 · 1 minRead it free](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/how-to-order-dumplings-in-chinese)

## What does 过了 + length of time (after …) mean in Chinese?

After …; … went by. 过了 + a length of time says time went by: 过了一会儿 “after a while”.

## How common is 过了 + length of time (after …)?

It comes up in 56 readings of the 462 stories and articles in our free Library.

## Does it correct my mistakes?

The finder doesn’t: it shows which patterns a text uses and what each one does. To have a sentence you wrote corrected, with each mistake explained, use the Chinese grammar checker.

## More free tools

- [Chinese grammar checker](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-grammar-checker): your mistakes fixed
- [Chinese dictionary](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-dictionary)
- [Measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [How hard is this text?](https://mandarinthewild.com/text-level)
- [Free Chinese stories](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

Patterns found by our own parser; lines from our free Library.