4.5. TRANSLATING PREPOSITIONS 221
used; when one only wishes to indicate something will happen after some
specific time or event, the reading for this noun is :
”(I)’ll do (my) homework afterwards.”In this sentence the act of ”doing homework” will be done at some
point after some contextually implied event, typically whatever the speaker
is doing at the moment of saying a sentence like this. On the other hand,
when indicating that something will stay in effect after some specific time
or event, the reading for this kanji is :
8
literally: ”After that is leisure.”
”(My) job ends at 8, after that (I)’ll be available.”Because the reading for the noun is in this sentence, it clearly
states that this person won’t be free for just a while after 8 o’ clock, but
will be free from 8 o’ clock onwards until some indeterminate time (being
probably when they go to bed).
There is a third reading for , being , but this is a literary read-
ing used as a replacement for , with as extra feature that it can be used
to stand for ”the afterlife”; the ultimate concept of ”afterwards”. However,
this reading is also used in the common formal time indicator (
) meaning ”later”, ”at some later time”, ”afterwards” or even ”eventu-
ally”.
- Out, outside
The opposite of , stands for the broad and undefined location that is
the world outside, some container or other:
”Our cat’s playing outside (lit: outside the house).”