莫
surname Mo; do not; there is none who
Closest English meanings
do not·none·no one
The Calligrapher — Mǐ Fú 米芾
Song eccentric genius of dynamic, 'flying' running script.
Song calligrapher (1051–1107), master of running script — Song eccentric genius ('crazy Zhang, idiot Mi') whose running script alternates discipline with glee. Song dynasty
Cultural Story
莫's oldest picture is sunset: the sun sinking into grassland, 日 among 茻. That image was borrowed away for the sense 'none, no one, do not', and the dusk meaning had to re-spawn as a new character, 暮. Classical usage made 莫 the great negative — 'no one can withstand it', 'do not speak of it' — and it seeds dozens of idioms about the unknowable: 莫测, unfathomable; 莫名, beyond naming.
Common words & phrases
- 莫非 could it be · surely
- 莫大 greatest · utmost
- 莫测 unfathomable · inscrutable
- 莫如 better than · might as well
- 莫名其妙 incomprehensible · odd
Read the story behind the character
An odd notification arrives at midnight — 莫名其妙, she mutters, blocking the sender. A detective drama's trailer whispers 莫非 he knew all along?, the old interrogative doing suspense work. Your roommate, offered two internships, concludes that 莫如 take both interviews first. And a chess streamer caps a brilliant move with '妙到莫大', grammar bent by excitement in the live chat.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Mǐ Fú 米芾, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.