莫
mòadverbnegative particle★Intermediate
formalliterary
Used to express prohibition or impossibility, similar to 'do not' or 'must not'
莫要担心
Do not worry
莫名其妙
Inexplicable
💡
Often used in literary or formal contexts to express strong prohibition or impossibility
formalliterary
Used to express that something is impossible or cannot be done
莫过于
Nothing is more than
莫如
It is better to
💡
In these contexts, it often appears in fixed expressions
Collocations
莫名其妙inexplicable莫过于nothing is more than莫如it is better to
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related Phrases
莫名其妙phrase
inexplicable
莫过于phrase
nothing is more than
莫如phrase
it is better to
💡Pro Tip
Literary Usage
莫 is more common in classical and literary Chinese than in modern spoken Chinese
⚡Gold Rule
Prohibition
When used to express prohibition, it is often followed by a verb
📖Word Origin
Derived from Classical Chinese, originally meaning 'do not' or 'must not'
📝Usage Notes
Commonly used in formal and literary contexts, less frequent in everyday speech
Word Breakdown
莫
do not
root汉英词典