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最后 (zuì hòu) — the end; the last part

Definition

最后 is the everyday word for 'the end' or 'the last' in time or sequence (e.g. the last person, the final chapter). It is less formal than 最终, which is a written register.

noun
the endthe last part

Examples

  • 最后。
    Tā shì zuì hòu yí gè dào de.
    He was the last one to arrive.
  • 最后。
    zuì hòu De liàn xí zuì nán.
    The last exercise is the hardest.
  • 最后。
    Tā pǎo dào le zuì hòu.
    He ran to the end.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

最zuìmost
后hòulater

最 “most” and 后 “later” together mean the final point.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
取
取qǔ最zuì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape pairs 取, which gives the sound, with a roof-like top from 宀; marks above were later added to separate the “most” meaning.

Open 最 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 後; 后 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 後 showed 夊 (foot) bound by 幺 (thread), a foot caught by a rope and lagging behind; the simplified 后 is a later abbreviation, and 后 also has a different meaning.

Open 后 →
Appears in
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