㝡
zuì HSK1

most

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approved by Peter Olson · Feb 18, 2022, 08:10 PM · Reviewed by Peter Olson on Feb 18, 2022, 08:10 PM

最

Original meaning: gather

Old variant of 最. Phonosemantic compound. 宀 represents the meaning and 取 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "gather". The meaning later shifted to "accumulate", "many" and "most".

Components

宀
宀 Meaning component
取
取 Sound component
Change in sound

Character Evolution

Oracle form
Oracle Bone ~1250-1000 BC
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Sources

Character origin
季旭昇《說文新證》p.617
Historical images
Academia Sinica