Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

(the) most; -est

Chinese: 表示程度最高。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “zui” becomes a different word in each tone. 最 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 最后zuì hòufinal; last; ultimate; finally
  • 最好zuì hǎobest; had better ...; it would be best to ...
  • 最近zuì jìnrecently; soon; nearest
  • 最终zuì zhōngfinal; ultimate
  • 最初zuì chūfirst; primary; initial; original

Example Sentence

我最喜欢的季节是春天。Wǒ zuì xǐ huan de jì jié shì chūn tiān.My favorite season is spring.

Izuìmost喜欢xǐ huanto likedeof季节jì jiétimeshìis春天chūn tiānspring (season)

Go deeper

Where this character comes from

曰 over 取 (to take): to take to the utmost — the superlative marker ‘most, -est’ (最好 best, 最大 biggest).

A way to remember it

Put 最 before an adjective for ‘most’: 最高 (highest).