Where does “真っ最中” come from?
真っ最中 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 最中, from Japanese 中, from Japanese 中今, from Japanese 今 — now; just now; soon.
真っ最中 (Japanese): midst; middle of
Definitions
- midst; middle of
Ancestry of “真っ最中”, step by step
真っ最中 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Japanese 最中
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 最中 | most active state, in progress, at one's best |
| 2 | Japanese | 中 | middle, medium; average; neither good nor poor;... |
| 3 | Japanese | 中今 | the present, as a privileged moment in eternity |
| 4 | Japanese | 今 | now; just now; soon |
via Japanese 真っ
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 真っ | prefixes nouns, adjectives or adjectival nouns... |