What's the difference between après and derrière?

Après is about time and sequence: après le repas, after the meal. Derrière is about physical position: derrière le mur, behind the wall. English after covers both, which is the source of the confusion.

How do you say after doing something in French?

Use après plus the past infinitive: après avoir mangé, après être partie, après s'être levé. A plain infinitive is not possible, and the subject of the infinitive has to match the subject of the main clause.

Does après que take the subjunctive?

Not in standard grammar. Because the event has taken place, après que takes the indicative: après qu'il est arrivé. You will hear the subjunctive constantly, borrowed from avant que, but it remains non-standard in writing.

Can après mean past a place?

Yes, in directions. Après le feu, tournez à droite means once you are past the lights, turn right. That is the one spatial use of après, and it means beyond rather than behind.

What does d'après mean?

According to, or based on: d'après la météo, il va pleuvoir. It attributes information to a source and has nothing to do with time, despite containing après.

French grammar · Intermediate

Après vs. Derrière: After in Time, Behind in Space

Written by Camille Laurent, Lead French Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

Après is after in time or in sequence; derrière is behind in space. English uses after for both a later moment and a following position, which is why the pair needs sorting out: après le film, but derrière la porte.

Le parking est derrière la gare ; on se retrouve après le concert.

The car park is behind the station; we'll meet up after the concert.

What it is

The two words divide up a job that English gives mostly to after. Après places one event later than another on a timeline. Derrière places one object at the back of another in physical space. Confusing them produces sentences that are grammatical but describe the wrong thing.

Après le dîner, nous avons marché derrière la maison. — After dinner, we walked behind the house.

How to spot it

Ask whether you could replace the word with later than or with at the back of. The first is après, the second derrière.

après trois heures — after three o'clock (time)
derrière l'immeuble — behind the building (place)
l'un après l'autre — one after the other (sequence)
la porte de derrière — the back door (position)

Après can be spatial in one narrow case: giving directions, where it means past rather than behind. Tournez après la pharmacie means turn once you have gone past the chemist's.

Après vs. Derrière Quick Reference

Which one, and for what

Meaning	Word	Example
Later in time	après	après le déjeuner — after lunch
Next in a sequence	après	après vous — after you
Past a landmark	après	après le pont — past the bridge
At the back of something	derrière	derrière le canapé — behind the sofa
Following someone physically	derrière	Il marche derrière moi. — He's walking behind me.
Chasing	après	courir après le bus — to run after the bus
According to	d'après	d'après lui — according to him

Common Après vs. Derrière Examples in French

Each word in the territory that belongs to it:

Après for Time

On en parlera après la réunion.: We'll talk about it after the meeting.
Après le film, on est allés boire un verre.: After the film, we went for a drink.
Je te rappelle après quinze heures.: I'll call you back after three.
Et après ?: And then what?

Après on its own is a common adverb meaning afterwards: on verra après, we'll see later.

Derrière for Position

Le jardin est derrière la maison.: The garden is behind the house.
Il s'est caché derrière un arbre.: He hid behind a tree.
Regarde derrière toi.: Look behind you.
Ma voiture est garée derrière la tienne.: My car is parked behind yours.

Like après, derrière can stand alone as an adverb: la cuisine est derrière, the kitchen is at the back.

Sequence and Order

Les invités sont arrivés l'un après l'autre.: The guests arrived one after the other.
Après vous, je vous en prie.: After you, please.
Elle est passée juste après moi.: She went right after me.
Il y a trois personnes derrière moi dans la queue.: There are three people behind me in the queue.

In a queue both are possible: après moi refers to turn, derrière moi to physical place. They often describe the same situation.

Chasing and Pursuing

Le chien court après le facteur.: The dog runs after the postman.
J'ai couru après le bus sans le rattraper.: I ran after the bus without catching it.
Il est toujours après moi pour ce dossier.: He's always on at me about that file.
Arrête de courir après lui.: Stop chasing after him.

Pursuit takes après, not derrière, because the idea is following in time as much as in space.

How Each Word Behaves

Après has more grammar attached to it, because it can introduce a verb; derrière is a straightforward spatial preposition.

Après Takes a Noun, a Pronoun or a Past Infinitive

What it cannot take is a plain infinitive. Where English says after eating, French says après avoir mangé, using the past infinitive because the action is already complete.

Après avoir fini, elle est rentrée chez elle.

After finishing, she went home.

après + avoir / être + participle.

Après Que Takes the Indicative

Because the event has actually happened, après que is followed by the indicative in standard grammar: après qu'il est parti. The subjunctive is extremely common in speech, by analogy with avant que, but it is not the prescribed form.

Après qu'elle est partie, tout est redevenu calme.

After she left, everything went quiet again.

après que + indicative.

Derrière Marks the Far Side

Derrière places something on the side away from the observer or away from the front of an object. Its opposite is devant, and the pair works on the same axis.

La sortie est derrière vous, sur la gauche.

The exit is behind you, on the left.

derrière ↔ devant.

Both Work as Adverbs

With nothing following them, both words become adverbs: après means afterwards and derrière means at the back. Neither needs a preposition to hold it up.

Passe devant, je te suis derrière.

You go in front, I'll follow behind.

No noun → adverb.

Derrière Can Be a Noun

Le derrière means the back or, colloquially, the backside. De derrière and par-derrière are also fixed: la porte de derrière, attaquer par-derrière.

Ils sont entrés par-derrière.

They came in round the back.

le derrière, de derrière, par-derrière.

Common Mistakes with Après vs. Derrière

Incorrect: Après manger, je suis sorti. — After eating, I went out.

Correct: Après avoir mangé, je suis sorti. — After eating, I went out.

Après cannot be followed by a plain infinitive. The action is finished, so French uses the past infinitive with avoir or être.

Incorrect: Le jardin est après la maison. — The garden is behind the house.

Correct: Le jardin est derrière la maison. — The garden is behind the house.

Après places events in time, not objects in space. For a fixed position at the back of something, only derrière works.

Incorrect: Le chien court derrière le facteur. — The dog is running after the postman.

Correct: Le chien court après le facteur. — The dog is running after the postman.

Courir derrière describes a position while running; courir après means chasing. The idiom for pursuit is fixed with après.

Incorrect: Après qu'il soit parti, j'ai fermé la porte. — After he left, I locked the door.

Correct: Après qu'il est parti, j'ai fermé la porte. — After he left, I locked the door.

Après que introduces something that really happened, so standard grammar requires the indicative. The subjunctive is widespread in speech but is corrected in writing.

Après With Verbs, and the D'après Family

The two constructions that come up most in writing are the past infinitive and the reporting phrase d'après.

Après plus the past infinitive

The subject of the past infinitive must be the same as the subject of the main verb. Avoir is used for most verbs, être for verbs of movement and reflexives, and the participle agrees as usual.

Après avoir mangé, nous sommes sortis.: After eating, we went out.
Après être arrivée, elle a appelé sa mère.: After arriving, she called her mother.
Après s'être douchés, ils sont partis.: After showering, they left.
Après avoir lu le contrat, j'ai signé.: After reading the contract, I signed.

If the two subjects differ, the infinitive is impossible and you need après que with a full clause instead.

D'après for attribution

D'après means according to, or based on. It introduces a source rather than a time, and it takes a noun or a stressed pronoun.

D'après le journal, la grève est terminée.: According to the paper, the strike is over.
D'après moi, c'est une erreur.: In my view, it's a mistake.
un film d'après un roman de Simenon: a film based on a novel by Simenon
Dessine d'après le modèle.: Draw from the model.

Selon is a close synonym and slightly more formal; d'après is what you hear in conversation.

Compounds and set phrases

Both words appear inside a small number of very common compounds, where the hyphen is part of the spelling.

Je fais la sieste l'après-midi.: I have a nap in the afternoon.
On se voit après-demain.: We'll see each other the day after tomorrow.
Les conditions sont détaillées ci-après.: The terms are set out below.
Il m'a critiqué par-derrière.: He criticised me behind my back.

L'après-midi can be masculine or feminine, though the masculine is now far more common.

Après vs. Derrière FAQs

What's the difference between après and derrière?: Après is about time and sequence: après le repas, after the meal. Derrière is about physical position: derrière le mur, behind the wall. English after covers both, which is the source of the confusion.
How do you say after doing something in French?: Use après plus the past infinitive: après avoir mangé, après être partie, après s'être levé. A plain infinitive is not possible, and the subject of the infinitive has to match the subject of the main clause.
Does après que take the subjunctive?: Not in standard grammar. Because the event has taken place, après que takes the indicative: après qu'il est arrivé. You will hear the subjunctive constantly, borrowed from avant que, but it remains non-standard in writing.
Can après mean past a place?: Yes, in directions. Après le feu, tournez à droite means once you are past the lights, turn right. That is the one spatial use of après, and it means beyond rather than behind.
What does d'après mean?: According to, or based on: d'après la météo, il va pleuvoir. It attributes information to a source and has nothing to do with time, despite containing après.