莫
Character learning workspace

mò · cannot

Master the form, understand its parts, and learn how it behaves in real Chinese.

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Learn every stroke in 莫

Replay the complete order, pause on difficult movements, inspect one stroke at a time, then write it yourself with live correction.

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Stroke graphics: Make Me a Hanzi / Arphic Public License
Step-by-step explorer

See how 莫 is constructed

Switch between the accumulated form and the isolated movement of each stroke.

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Writing notes

Shape and proportion

10Total strokes

Count each continuous pen movement once, including turns and hooks.

Top-bottomCharacter structure

Keep the upper section balanced above the lower section.

艹Key radical

Use the highlighted radical in the animation as a visual anchor for remembering the form.

Print and practise

Download a 莫 writing sheet

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Includes the stroke sequence, progressive tracing, and blank writing squares. Generated locally in your browser.

Vocabulary in context

Common words with 莫

Open a word for its full breakdown, or listen before reading the meaning.

mòWords pronounced mò
moWords pronounced mo
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Example sentences

Notice where 莫 sits in each complete thought.

Chū guì xū yào mò dà de yǒng qì.出柜需要莫大的勇气。

Coming out of the closet requires tremendous courage.

Source: Tatoeba #10041977 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Pǔ tiān zhī xià, mò fēi wáng tǔ; lǜ tǔ zhī bīn, mò fēi wáng chén.溥天之下,莫非王土;率土之滨,莫非王臣。

Under the vast heaven, no land is not the king's land; at the edges of the land, no one is not the king's subject.

Source: Tatoeba #12705200 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Tā zhēn shì ràng wǒ mò bù zhe tóu nǎo.她真是让我莫不着头脑。

I couldn't make her out at all.

Source: Tatoeba #1424392 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Zhè zài zuì hòu dé dào le mò míng de jiě shì.這在最後得到了莫名的解釋。

That is somewhat explained at the end.

Source: Tatoeba #13113768 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Āi mò dà yú xīn sǐ哀莫大于心死

Nothing is more sad than stupidity and apathy.

Source: Tatoeba #4035120 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Zài dōng jīng hé mò sī kē yǒu yí gè háng bān.在东京和莫斯科有一个航班。

There is an air service between Tokyo and Moscow.

Source: Tatoeba #591882 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Turn reference into recall

How to study 莫 in context

  1. Say mò, then recall the core meaning: cannot.
  2. Write all 10 strokes while keeping the top-bottom balanced.
  3. Use it in 变幻莫测 (biàn huàn mò cè), meaning “to change unpredictably”.
  4. Read the complete sentence aloud once, then cover the translation and explain how 莫 works in that context.

Definitions and traditional forms are compiled from Make Me a Hanzi, HSK curriculum data, and CC-CEDICT. Sourced example sentences link to Tatoeba; editorial examples are labeled separately. Review data sources and licenses.