放課後

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 放課後 is read as ほうかご and is a noun and time expression for the period after the school day’s classes end.
• Basic usage: Use 放課後に to locate an action in time and 放課後の練習 to modify an activity.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• に and の
  • 放課後に marks when homework was done, while 放課後の identifies the time associated with practice.
• School-based time
  • 放課後 is defined by the end of school classes and is not the ordinary term for time after leaving a workplace.