最近

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 最近 (zuìjìn) means "recently" or "lately". It is composed of two characters: 最 (zuì), which means "most" or "the most", and 近 (jìn), which means "near" or "close". The combination of these two characters suggests the idea of "the most recent" or "the closest in time".The character 最 (zuì) is derived from the ancient Chinese character 萃 (cuì), which originally meant "to gather together" or "to assemble". Over time, the meaning of 萃 (cuì) evolved to include the idea of "the best" or "the most excellent". The character 近 (jìn) is derived from the ancient Chinese character 堇 (jǐn), which originally meant "to approach" or "to come close". Over time, the meaning of 堇 (jǐn) evolved to include the idea of "near" or "close in time".The combination of 最 (zuì) and 近 (jìn) in the word 最近 (zuìjìn) creates a compound that retains the meanings of both characters. The word 最近 (zuìjìn) can be used to refer to a period of time that is close to the present, or to an event that has happened recently. For example, the sentence 最近天气很热 (zuìjìn tiānqì hěn rè) means "The weather has been very hot recently".