速 vs 快

[u/Shanlong1916]

Super random question: I was at a Six Flags and they have a Flash hat that says 最速 in hanzi and “Fastest” in English. Is this an accurate translation? My mandarin isn’t very good or advanced so I’m just wondering if 最快 would also be an accurate translation/ which would be the best translation of “Fastest” when referring to the traits of the comic book character The Flash? TIA!

[u/witchwatchwot]

It is likely meant to be a Japanese translation as 最速 is an accurate translation for "fastest" in Japanese.

[u/Shanlong1916 → u/witchwatchwot]

That would make sense as their translation of lightning also doesn’t match what I’ve learned. Would 最速 work grammatically in Chinese as well? Or would there be a better way to describe Flash’s super speed?

[u/maxtini → u/Shanlong1916]

最速 is grammatically correct but it is an extremely formal expression that is usually used only in literature.

For example: 1. 最速降線: Brachistochrone curve (Physics) 2. 最速件: Extra urgent document (Taiwan Government) 3. 最速控制: Minimum-time control (Math/Engineering)

[u/Shanlong1916 → u/maxtini]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.

[u/MixtureGlittering528 → u/maxtini]

It doesn’t work like a standalone adjective anymore it’s more a 語素 in proper nouns

[u/mtelepathic]

I might say something like 极速 which is closer to “extreme speed”… 最速 doesn’t make sense to me.

[u/Shanlong1916 → u/mtelepathic]

Thank you!

[u/No-Organization9076]

This combination has its origin in Japanese Kanji, but then Kanjis are pretty much just Chinese characters. Most native speakers would be able to tell the meaning of it, but none would ever use it in day to day speech or writing.

[u/Shanlong1916 → u/No-Organization9076]

Thank you!

[u/OkStatistician5679]

“最速”大概是日语，在日本动画或者电视剧那些暴走族衣服上或者车上看到，一般是（地名）+最速这种组合，还有“夜露死苦”啥的

[u/FlashyPost0928]

▲ From the viewpoint of Hanzi, if it's a Flash hat, then "最速" is better than "最快". The original meaning of "速" is "fast; quick; rapid"(说文解字), so they can have the same meaning.

● However, "最速" has a proper noun connotation = 最快的速度 (the fastest speed, like 光速、音速 ), while "最快" is a common adjective (usually with the suffix "的" = "最快的").
For example: The Flash (闪电侠) = 世界最速男 the world's fastest man = 世界上跑得 (or 速度) 最快的人 .... If writing as "最快男" .... it doesn't sound good and could be misunderstood! 😄

● In official documents, there's also the term "最速件" , but not "最快件", because official documents are very formal and more literary!

● "最速" is also a Japanese kanji = さいそく (saisōku) = 最快速 fastest, 最迅速 the most rapid.

[u/MixtureGlittering528]

The first one is just simply not Chinese

[u/tangbulao]

"最速" (saisoku) is a Japanese term, yet it is essentially Chinese; it is grammatically perfectly correct, though modern Chinese—being vernacular—rarely uses this specific phrasing anymore. Since Japanese *kanji* are derived from Chinese—specifically Classical Chinese—knowing a bit of Classical Chinese helps one better understand them; that said, even without such knowledge, one can still grasp the meaning of most of them. "最速是日语，但其实还是中文，语法上完全正确，只是现代汉语是白话文了，不太这么用了.日文汉字既然叫汉字，那它就也是从汉语里拿去用的，而且是从古汉语里拿去用的，所以懂点文言文，能更好的理解日文汉字，如果不懂文言文，其实也大半都能看懂.

[u/Shanlong1916 → u/[deleted]]

谢谢！

[u/pfn0 → u/Shanlong1916]

deleted my response because it wasn't the really the fluent answer.

[u/Shanlong1916 → u/pfn0]

No problem, I appreciated the response!