最初
zuì chū · HSK 4
first
🥇 最 = most + 初 = beginning; the most-beginning = very first
最 means most/-est (superlative marker), and 初 means beginning or initial stage. Together 最初 literally reads as the most-beginning, giving the sense of the very first or original moment of something.
最 — top 冃 (hat/cover) + bottom 取 (take)
Originally a compound suggesting taking something even at risk, with 冃 (a covering, often confused with 日 sun) over 取 (to seize). Over time it shifted from 'to risk taking' to the superlative meaning 'most' or 'extremely', its modern use in Chinese.
初 — clothes radical 衤 + knife 刀
初 combines 衤 (clothes) and 刀 (knife), depicting the act of cutting cloth to begin making a garment. From this concrete image of starting a tailoring task came the extended meaning 'beginning' or 'first'. It is an associative compound, not phonetic.