Ichiban Saisho/Ichban Saigo (一番最初/一番最後 - First/Last)

Ichiban Saisho/Ichiban Saigo

I often hear and say the phrases, 'ichiban saisho' (一番最初) and 'ichiban saigo' (一番最後) in daily conversation.

'Ichiban' (一番) means "most," 'saisho' (最初) means "first," and 'saigo' (最後) means "latest," so the literal meanings of 'ichiban saisho' and 'ichiban saigo' are "the most first" and "the most last," respectively.

These are redundant expressions, and some people think they are not correct Japanese.

However, they may not be wrong if you think that 'saisho' and 'saigo' means a range (i.e., "first part" and "last part"), and 'ichiban' refers to an edge point of the range.

You should not use 'ichiban saisho' and 'ichiban saigo' in formal documents, but I think that they have come to be widely accepted in daily conversation.

一番最初/一番最後

私は日常会話で、「一番最初」や「一番最後」という表現をよく聞きますし、よく使います。

「一番」は "most"、「最初」は "fist"、「最後」は "last" を意味するので、「一番最初」と「一番最後」の文字どおりの意味は、それぞれ "the most first" と "the most last" になります。

これは重複表現（英語では "redundant expression"）であり、正しくない日本語と考える人もいます。

ただし、「最初」や「最後」が指す対象が領域的なものであり、その中でも最も端であることを表す（強調する）ためであると考えれば、一概に誤りとは言えないとも思います。

「一番最初」「一番最後」という表現は正式な文書では避けるべきですが、日常会話では広く許容されつつあると感じています。

• I often hear and say the phrases, 'ichiban saisho' (一番最初) and 'ichiban saigo' (一番最後) in daily conversation.
• I often hear and say the phrases, "ichiban saisho" (一番最初) and "ichiban saigo" (一番最後) in daily conversation.

  You should use double quotes when quoting words, not single quotes.
  The same applies to the rest of the entry, but I am too lazy to correct all of them. :)

• However, they may not be wrong if you think that 'saisho' and 'saigo' means a range (i.
• However, the expressions may not be wrong if you think that 'saisho' and 'saigo' means a range (i.

  At first I thought "they" referred to "some people", so I think replacing with "the expressions" makes it clearer.

• e., "first part" and "last part"), and 'ichiban' refers to an edge point of the range.
• e., "first part" and "last part"), and 'ichiban' refers to the beginning of the range.

English also has lots of redundancies!
Added bonus
Blend together
End result
Free gift
Overexaggerate