「最近」 (さいきん) means "recently," "lately," or "these days." It indicates a period of time not long ago, close to the present. You use it to talk about events or conditions that occurred or changed just a short while ago. I've been busy recently.

「最近」は、現在からあまり遠くない過去の期間を指します。最近、私は忙しいです。