最後
さいご · saigo · JLPT N4 · noun
stopping point
🏁 最後 = most (最) + after (後): the most-after one is the last
最 is the superlative marker, as in 最高 (highest) and 最初 (first). 後 means after or behind. Whatever comes most-after everything else is the last, the end. Sound hook: sai-go, as in the final call before you go.
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.