Where does “最悪” come from?

最悪 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 悪, from Middle Chinese 惡.

最悪 (Japanese): the worst

Definitions

  1. the worst

Ancestry of “最悪”, step by step

最悪 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 悪

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese悪evil, wickedness
2Middle Chinese惡—

via Japanese 最

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese最most, greatest
2Proto-Indo-Europeansai-—
Every word from Middle Chinese 惡 →Every word from Japanese 悪 →