recent

Compared meaning: happening not long ago (adjective).

比较义项：最近的（形容词）。

• recent 本词

  A general adjective describing something that happened not long ago; it modifies ordinary nouns (recent years, recent news) and does not point to one specific past occasion.

  一个泛指的形容词，描述不久前发生的事情；它修饰普通名词（recent years、recent news），并不指向过去某一个具体的时刻。

  Recent studies suggest that walking daily improves your mood.

  最近的研究表明，每天散步能改善情绪。

• last

  Typically pairs with a specific time word (week, night, time) to mean the one immediately before now; it points to one exact occasion rather than a general period.

  通常与具体的时间名词（week、night、time）搭配，表示紧挨在现在之前的那一次；它指向某一个确切的时刻，而不是一段泛泛的时间。

  I saw her last week at a friend's birthday party.

  我上周在一个朋友的生日聚会上见到了她。

Recent and last can both mean not long ago, but recent is general, as in recent years. Last usually pairs with a time word, like week or night, meaning the one right before now. Last can also mean 'final', not compared here.

这两个词都可以表示“最近发生的”，但用法不同：recent 是描述性形容词，泛指不久前的一段时间；last 则常与具体的时间名词连用，指“紧挨着现在的上一个”那一次。这里不比较 last 的另一个常见义项“最后的、末尾的”（如 the last apple，指“剩下的最后一个”）。