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最 (Kangxi radical 73,曰+8, 12 strokes,cangjie input日尸十水 (ASJE),four-corner60147,composition⿱曰⿸耳又(GJKV) or⿱⺜⿸耳又(HT))
| trad. | 最 | |
|---|---|---|
| simp.# | 最 | |
| alternative forms | 冣 㝡 𥦡 𣤜 | |
| Historical forms of the character最 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Shang | Warring States | Shuowen Jiezi (compiled inHan) |
| Oracle bone script | Qin slip script | Small seal script |
 |  |  |
| 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.
| Variety | Location | 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/ |
| Tunxi | /t͡sə⁴²/ | |
| Xiang | Changsha | /t͡sei⁵⁵/ |
| Xiangtan | /t͡səi⁵⁵/ | |
| Gan | Nanchang | /t͡sui⁴⁵/ |
| Hakka | Meixian | /t͡sui⁵³/ |
| 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/ |
| 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 | /t͡suɑiH/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /t͡sʷɑiH/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /t͡suɑiH/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /t͡swajH/ |
| Li Rong | /t͡suɑiH/ |
| Wang Li | /t͡suɑiH/ |
| Bernhard Karlgren | /t͡suɑiH/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | zuì |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | zeoi3 |
| Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 最 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | zuì |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ tswajH › |
| Old Chinese | /*[ts]ˁot-s/ |
| English | collect; most |
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; | |
| 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/ |
最
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 最 |
| かなめ Grade: 4 |
| nanori |
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 最 |
| さい Grade: 4 |
| on'yomi |
| Kanji in this term |
|---|
| 最 |
| も Grade: 4 |
| kun'yomi |
Compareもっと(motto),最も(mottomo), and possiblyも(mo).
最:Hán Nôm readings:tối,tíu,tụi,tếu