最

最	U+6700, 最 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-6700

最	U+2F8D4, 最 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-2F8D4

← 冕
[U+2F8D3]

CJK Compatibility Ideographs Supplement

暜 →
[U+2F8D5]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

最 (Kangxi radical 73, 曰+8, 12 strokes, cangjie input 日尸十水 (ASJE), four-corner 6014₇, composition ⿱⺜取 (CJKVHT))

Derived characters

嘬, 撮, 樶, 㵊, 熶, 穝, 繓(𦈛), 襊, 䴝(𱊼), 蕞
𡡔, 𢄸, 𢢇, 𣋁, 𣩡, 𤩛, 𥊴, 𥕸, 𬓙, 𥪳, 𦦣, 𨅎, 𨣅, 𨼥, 𪒙, 𪙦, 𣠏, 𪱕, 𪧨, 𥳣, 𩯉, 𭕁, 𭞮

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 503, character 5
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14301
Dae Jaweon: page 877, character 4
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1516, character 8
Unihan data for U+6700

Unihan data for U+2F8D4

Chinese

trad.		最
simp. ^#		最
alternative forms		冣㝡𥦡𣤜

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 最
Shang	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Oracle bone script	Qin slip script	Small seal script

Characters in the same phonetic series (取) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
陬	ʔsloː, ʔsru, *ʔslo
棷	ʔsloː, sʰloːʔ, sloːʔ, ʔsru
掫	ʔsloː, ʔsruʔ, *ʔslo
緅	ʔsloː, ʔsru, *slos
趣	sʰloːʔ, sʰlos
取	sʰloːʔ, sʰloʔ
鯫	zloː, zloːʔ, *sʰlo
棸	rlu, rluʔ, *ʔsru
鄹	ʔsru, zloʔ, *ljoːnʔ
郰	*ʔsru
齱	ʔsru, sʰroːɡ
菆	ʔsru, sʰros, *zloːn
箃	*ʔsru
黀	*ʔsru
驟	*zrus
最	*zloːds
襊	sʰoːds, sʰoːd
蕞	*zoːds
嘬	*sʰroːds
諏	*ʔslo
娵	*ʔslo
娶	sʰloʔ, sʰlos, *slo
聚	zloʔ, zlos
埾	*zlos
藂	*zloːŋ
叢	*zloːŋ
繓	*ʔsoːd
撮	ʔsoːd, sʰoːd

Originally 㝡, phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *zloːds) : semantic 宀 (“roof”) + phonetic 取 (OC *sʰloːʔ, *sʰloʔ) – "to gather". Later 二 was added as distinguishing marks to disambiguate the character for the meaning "the most". The top components have corrupted into 冃 in the traditional form. These components were further corrupted into 曰 in the simplified version.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): zuì (zui⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄗㄨㄟˋ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): zui⁴
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): zeoi³

(Taishan, Wiktionary): dui¹
Gan (Wiktionary): zui⁴
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): chui

(Meixian, Guangdong): zui⁴
Jin (Wiktionary): zui³
Northern Min (KCR): cuòi
Eastern Min (BUC): có̤i
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): chòe

(Teochew, Peng'im): zuê³
Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ¹tsoe / ⁵tsoe / ⁵tsei / ⁵tse / ⁵tshuei / ¹tsei
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): zei⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zuì
  - Zhuyin: ㄗㄨㄟˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zuèi
  - Wade–Giles: tsui⁴
  - Yale: dzwèi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzuey
  - Palladius: цзуй (czuj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡su̯eɪ̯⁵¹/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: zui⁴
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: zui
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡suei²¹³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: zeoi³
  - Yale: jeui
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dzoey³
  - Guangdong Romanization: zêu³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɵy̯³³/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: dui¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tui³³/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: zui⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sui³⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chui
  - Hakka Romanization System: zui
  - Hagfa Pinyim: zui⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡su̯i⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: zui⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡suɪ⁵³/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: zui³
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡suei⁴⁵/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: cuòi
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡suɛ⁴²/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: có̤i
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɔy²¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chòe
  - Tâi-lô: tsuè
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zoex
  - IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sue²¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sue⁴¹/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sue²¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /t͡sue¹¹/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sue²¹/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: zuê³
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsuè
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sue²¹³/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ¹tsoe
  - MiniDict: tsoe^平
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹tsoe
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡sø⁵³/
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁵tsoe
  - MiniDict: tsoe^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²tsoe
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡sø³⁴/
- (Northern: Chongming)
  - Wugniu: ⁵tsei
  - MiniDict: tsei^去
  - Sinological IPA (Chongming): /t͡sei³³/
- (Northern: Suzhou)
  - Wugniu: ⁵tse
  - MiniDict: tse^去
  - Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /t͡se⁵²³/
- (Northern: Hangzhou)
  - Wugniu: ⁵tshuei
  - MiniDict: tshuei^去
  - Sinological IPA (Hangzhou): /t͡sʰzʷei⁴⁵/
- (Northern: Ningbo)
  - Wugniu: ¹tsei
  - MiniDict: tsei^平
  - Sinological IPA (Ningbo): /t͡sɐɪ⁵²/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: zei⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡se̞i̯⁴⁵/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 最
Mandarin	Beijing	/t͡suei⁵¹/
	Harbin	/t͡suei⁵³/
	Tianjin	/t͡suei⁵³/
	Jinan	/t͡suei²¹/
	Qingdao	/t͡sue²¹³/
	Zhengzhou	/t͡suei³¹²/
	Xi'an	/t͡suei⁴⁴/
	Xining	/t͡suɨ²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/t͡suei¹³/
	Lanzhou	/t͡suei¹³/
	Ürümqi	/t͡suei²¹³/
	Wuhan	/t͡sei³⁵/
	Chengdu	/t͡suei¹³/
	Guiyang	/t͡suei²¹³/
	Kunming	/t͡suei²¹²/
	Nanjing	/t͡suəi⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/t͡se⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡suei⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/t͡suei³⁵/
	Hohhot	/t͡suei⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/t͡sø³⁵/
	Suzhou	/t͡se̞⁵¹³/
	Hangzhou	/t͡sz̩ʷei⁴⁴⁵/
	Wenzhou	/t͡sai⁴²/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡ɕye³²⁴/
Hui	Tunxi	/t͡sə⁴²/
Xiang	Changsha	/t͡sei⁵⁵/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/t͡səi⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡sui⁴⁵/
Hakka	Meixian	/t͡sui⁵³/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/t͡sui⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/t͡søy³³/
	Nanning	/t͡sui³³/
	Hong Kong	/t͡søy³³/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/t͡sue²¹/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/t͡sɔy²¹²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/t͡suɛ⁴²/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/t͡sue²¹³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/t͡sui³⁵/

Middle Chinese: tswajH

Rime
Character	最
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	精 (13)
Final (韻)	泰 (26)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	祖外切
Baxter	tswajH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡suɑi^H/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sʷɑi^H/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡suɑi^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡swaj^H/
Li Rong	/t͡suɑi^H/
Wang Li	/t͡suɑi^H/
Bernhard Karlgren	/t͡suɑi^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zuì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zeoi³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[ts]ˤot-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*zloːds/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	最
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	zuì
Middle Chinese	‹ tswaj^H ›
Old Chinese	/*[ts]ˁot-s/
English	collect; most
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	最
Reading #	1/1
No.	10645
Phonetic component	取
Rime group	祭
Rime subdivision	3
Corresponding MC rime	最
Old Chinese	/*zloːds/

Definitions

最

most; -est
最佳 ― zuìjiā ― optimal
the most ... thing; the best
世界之最 ― shìjiè zhī zuì ― world records

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 最 (“most”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		最, 至
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		最
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	最, 頂
	Taiwan	最
	Malaysia	最
	Singapore	最
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	最, 頂
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	最
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	最, 第一
	Wuhan	頂
	Guilin	最
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	頂, 最
Jianghuai Mandarin	Hefei	頂, 最
Cantonese	Guangzhou	最, 至
	Hong Kong	最, 至
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	最
	Taishan	最, 至
	Yangjiang	至
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	最
	Hepu (Shatian)	最
	Beihai	最
	Beihai (Nankang)	最
	Beihai (Yingpan)	最
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	最
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	最
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	最
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	最
	Singapore (Guangfu)	最
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	最
	Móng Cái	最
Gan	Nanchang	頂
Hakka	Meixian	最, 第一
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	盡, 最
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	最, 盡
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	最
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	盡, 最
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	最
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	頭
	Hong Kong	最
Jin	Taiyuan	頂
Northern Min	Jian'ou	頂, 最, 第一
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	第一, 最
Eastern Min	Matsu	第一
Southern Min	Xiamen	第一, 第, 一, 上
	Quanzhou	第一, 第, 上
	Jinjiang	上
	Zhangzhou	第一, 上
	Zhao'an	上
	Dongshan	上
	Taipei	上
	Kaohsiung	上
	Yilan	上
	Changhua (Lukang)	上
	Taichung	上
	Tainan	上
	Hsinchu	上
	Kinmen	上
	Penang (Hokkien)	第一
	Singapore (Hokkien)	上
	Manila (Hokkien)	第, 上
	Chaozhou	上頂, 上
	Shantou	上, 最
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	一
	Jieyang	上, 上頂
	Singapore (Teochew)	上
	Pontianak (Teochew)	上
	Wenchang	最
	Qionghai	最
Wu	Shanghai	最, 最最, 頂
	Suzhou	頂, 最
	Ningbo	頂, 頂頂
	Wenzhou	頂, 最
Xiang	Changsha	頂, 最
Xiang	Shuangfeng	頂, 最

Compounds

最上
最低工資 / 最低工资 (zuìdī gōngzī)
最佳 (zuìjiā)
最佳拍檔 / 最佳拍档
最先 (zuìxiān)
最初 (zuìchū)
最大公約數 / 最大公约数 (zuìdà gōngyuēshù)
最好 (zuìhǎo)
最小公倍數 / 最小公倍数 (zuìxiǎo gōngbèishù)
最少 (zuìshǎo)
最後 / 最后 (zuìhòu)
最後通牒 / 最后通牒 (zuìhòutōngdié)
最惠國待遇 / 最惠国待遇
最敬禮 / 最敬礼 (zuìjìnglǐ)
最為 / 最为 (zuìwéi)
最簡分數 / 最简分数 (zuìjiǎn fēnshù)
最終 / 最终 (zuìzhōng)
最近 (zuìjìn)
最速件
最適化 / 最适化 (zuìshìhuà)
最高法院 (zuìgāo fǎyuàn)
最高當局 / 最高当局
為善最樂 / 为善最乐 (wéishàn zuì lè)

Japanese

Kanji

最

(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

makes superlatives, most, -est

Readings

Go-on: さい (sai, Jōyō)
Kan-on: さい (sai, Jōyō)
Kun: もっとも (mottomo, 最も, Jōyō)、つまむ (tsumamu, 最む)、いと (ito, 最)
Nanori: もり (mori)、かなめ (kaname)

Compounds

Compounds of 最

Common

最(もっと)も (mottomo)
最(さい)愛(あい) (saiai, “beloved”)
最(さい)悪(あく) (saiaku, “the worst”)
最(さい)下(か) (saika, “the lowest”)
最(さい)強(きょう) (saikyō, “the strongest”)
最(さい)近(きん) (saikin, “recently”)
最(さい)古(こ) (saiko, “the oldest”)
最(さい)高(こう) (saikō, “highest; supreme”)
最(さい)後(ご) (saigo, “last”)
最(さい)期(ご) (saigo, “one's last moment”)
最(さい)終(しゅう) (saishū, “last; final; closing”)
最(さい)初(しょ) (saisho, “first; beginning”)
最(さい)小(しょう) (saishō, “the smallest”)
最(さい)新(しん) (saishin, “latest; newest”)
最(さい)上(じょう) (saijō, “best”)
最(さい)善(ぜん) (saizen, “the very best”)
最(さい)多(た) (saita, “the most”)
最(さい)短(たん) (saitan, “the shortest”)
最(さい)大(だい) (saidai, “the greatest”)
最(さい)中(ちゅう) (saichū, “middlemost”)
最(さい)長(ちょう) (saichō)
最(さい)低(てい) (saitei)
最(さい)適(てき) (saiteki)
最(さい)良(りょう) (sairyō)
最(も)早(はや) (mohaya)
最(も)寄(よ)り (moyori)
最(さい)恵(けい)国(こく) (saikeikoku, “most favored nation”)
最(さい)盛(せい)期(き) (saiseiki, “golden age”)
最(さい)先(せん)端(たん) (saisentan, “cutting-edge”)
最(さい)優(ゆう)遇(ぐう) (saiyūgū)

Uncommon

Names derived from 最

Family names

最里(もり) (Mori)

Female given names^[1]

最(さい)下(か) (Saika)
最(さい)子(こ) (Saiko)
最(さい)澄(ちょう) (Saichō)
最(さい)実(み) (Saimi), 最実(さみ) (Sami)
最(さい)美(み) (Saimi), 最美(さみ) (Sami)
最(さ)中(なか) (Sanaka)
最莉(さり) (Sari)
最愛(まな) (Mana), 最愛(もあ) (Moa), 最(も)愛(あい) (Moai)
最燃(もえ) (Moe)
最可(もか) (Moka)
最奈(もな) (Mona)
最汝(もな) (Mona)
最(も)萌(もえ) (Momoe)
瑚最(こも) (Komo)
夜最(やも) (Yamo)
最央利(さおり) (Saori)
最鶴生(さつき) (Satsuki)
最登江(さとえ) (Satoe)
沙妃最(さひも) (Sahimo)
最都子(もとこ) (Motoko)
都最実(ともみ) (Tomomi)

Place names

最(も)上(がみ) (Mogami)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
最
かなめ Grade: 4

Proper noun

最(かなめ) • (Kaname)

a male given name^[2]

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
最
さい Grade: 4

Proper noun

最(さい) • (Sai)

a female given name

Prefix

最(さい) • (sai-)

most, greatest

References

^ 女の子の名前辞書 - Name Catalogue (Girls only), Retrieved 6 May 2013
^ 赤ちゃんの名前好感度調査 - Baby Name Catalogue, Retrieved 6 May 2013

Korean

Hanja

最 (eumhun 가장 최 (gajang choe))

hanja form^? of 최 (“most”)

Compounds

최고 (最高, choego, “the best”)

Vietnamese

Han character

最: Hán Nôm readings: tối, tíu, tụi, tếu

chữ Hán form of tối (“the most; -est”).

Compounds

[1] 女の子の名前辞書 - Name Catalogue (Girls only), Retrieved 6 May 2013

[2] 赤ちゃんの名前好感度調査 - Baby Name Catalogue, Retrieved 6 May 2013

[1]

[2]