莫过于……

mò guò yú...

nothing surpasses... (莫过于……)

莫过于 means “nothing surpasses...” It is used to highlight the most important, greatest, or most fitting example.

Anchor example

学习语言最大的困难莫过于长期坚持。

Xuéxí yǔyán zuì dà de kùnnan mò guò yú chángqī jiānchí.

The greatest difficulty in learning a language is nothing greater than long-term persistence.

HSK 6

1 structures

15 exercises

Lesson summary

Read the sample sentence and notice how 莫过于…… works in the frame: 莫过于 A.

Explanation

莫过于 is a formal expression used in evaluation. It often follows phrases like 最大的, 最重要的, 最好的. Do not confuse it with 无非是, which minimizes something as merely a simple reason.

Structure Patterns

1 structures

Grammar pattern

莫过于 A

emphasizes the highest or most important thing in a category

学习语言最大的困难莫过于长期坚持。

Xuéxí yǔyán zuì dà de kùnnan mò guò yú chángqī jiānchí.

The greatest difficulty in learning a language is nothing greater than long-term persistence.

Common Mistakes

Using 无非是 for highest evaluation.Use 莫过于 to mean “nothing surpasses.”
Using it without a comparison/evaluation context.莫过于 needs a superlative-like frame.

Usage Notes

Formal and evaluative.
Often with 最大/最好/最重要.
Positive or negative depending on context.

Practice

15 exercises

1 / 15

Fill in the blank:

学习语言最大的困难____长期坚持。

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