Chinese

Adverb

最近

1. recently; lately

Pronunciation

Adjective

最近

1. nearest

Japanese

Etymology

最 ‎(sai, “most”) +‎ 近 ‎(kin, “close”)

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• (Tokyo) さいきん [sàíkíń] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [sa̠ikʲĩɴ]
• Homophone: 細菌

Noun

最近 ‎(hiragana さいきん, romaji saikin)

1. the latest; the most recent

Adverb

最近 ‎(hiragana さいきん, romaji saikin)

1. nowadays
2. recently
   • マンガで分かるLisp (Manga Guide to Lisp)

     みりん。地域猫 (ちいきねこ)。最近 (さいきん)までマクロのことをマグロと思 (おも)っていた。

     Mirin. Chiikineko. Saikin made makuro no koto o maguro to omotteita.

     Mirin: A neighbours' cat. Until recently often confused macros with tuna.

Derived terms

• 極最近 (ごくさいきん) ‎(gokusaikin) adv. (uncommon) very recently

References

1. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9