Expressing "nothing is more...than" with "moguoyu"
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莫过于 can be easily understood as "cannot surpass." It is usually used in literary and formal Chinese to give emphasis to something, emphases that something is the "best" . It is similar to how in English we might say "Nothing is more delicious, not even the world's best restaurants, than my mother's cooking."
Structure
In this structure, you first state the topic or a question and then give your answer that you think the best. The answer comes after the 莫过于.莫过于 is one of the phrases that comes from 文言文 Chinese. The 莫 means "not" or "nobody", and the 过于 means "surpass".
Topics or questions + 莫过于 + answer
Examples
- 美国 最 好 的 大学 莫过于 哈佛大学。For America's best college, nothing is better than Harvard.
- 人生 中 最 悲伤 的 事情 莫过于 失去 你 爱 的 人。Nothing is sadder in life than losing a loved one.
- 让 她 最 难过 的 莫过于 你 对 她 大喊 大叫。Nothing makes her sadder than you shouting at her.
- 我 能 想 到 最 浪漫 的 事 莫过于 跟 你 一起 白头到老。The most romantic thing I can imagine is getting old together with you.
- 对 父母 来说 最 大 的 安慰 莫过于 孩子 能 开始 独立 生活 了。 To parents, nothing is more comforting than their kids being able to lead independent lives.
Sources and further reading
Books
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