zuì
adverb HSK 1 #95

Meanings

  1. 1 most
  2. 2 -est (superlative)

Characters

(sun) + (to take) - taking the sun, reaching the highest point.

Examples

HSK 1
Tā shì zuì hǎo de xuéshēng.
He is the best student.
HSK 1
Nǐ zuì xǐhuan shénme?
What do you like the most?
HSK 1
Zhè shì zuìhòu yī cì.
This is the last time.

Tips

grammar
Chinese superlatives are simple: + adjective. No irregular forms: (best), (biggest), (most).

Components

radical
yuē
say; (here: head-cover graphic)
Top indexing radical - visually identical to (sun) in modern fonts but a separate Kangxi radical (a mouth with a tongue/breath stroke). Here it is purely an indexing assignment; the original top of was a helmet/cover graphic that the script regularised into this -shape over time.
semantic
take; seize
Bottom - to seize, originally an ear () being taken by a hand (), referencing the ancient practice of cutting off enemy ears as battlefield trophies. Combined with the helmet-cover above, the original sense of was 'most prized capture' - the best, the topmost, the superlative. Modern usage is purely the superlative marker (most, -est).

Stroke Order

zuì