莫 mò — none, do not · English

莫

mò

none, do not

At a glance · 莫

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

莫字甲骨文从艸从日，日没草中，会意为日暮、无；后借为否定词『莫（不）』。金文、小篆承之。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

莫本义为日暮（暮），假借为否定词『没有、不要』。

Structure

莫为会意字，日在草中，表示天晚；否定义为假借。

At a glance

Pinyinmò

Radical艹

Strokes11

UnicodeU+83AB

Character type会意

Theme虚词

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English none, do not Mo was originally an associative character of the sun in grass meaning dusk and was borrowed as a negative none or do not.

Français aucun, ne pas Mo était à l'origine un caractère associatif du soleil dans l'herbe signifiant le crépuscule et a été emprunté comme négation aucun ou ne pas.

Español ninguno, no Mo era originalmente un carácter asociativo del sol en la hierba que significaba el crepúsculo y se tomó prestado como negación ninguno o no.

العربية لا، لا أحد مو كان في الأصل حرفاً تركيبياً للشمس في العشب يعني الغسق ثم استُعير نفياً (لا، لا أحد).

Русский никто, не Мо изначально было ассоциативным знаком солнца в траве со значением сумерки и было заимствовано как отрицание «никто, не».

Common words

莫mòdo not
莫非mò fēicould it be

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