最…的莫过于…
nothing is more … than …; the most … of all is …
Structure
最 形容词／动词短语 的（，）莫过于 名词／短句
What it means
Picks out one thing as the most … of all: “nothing is more … than …”. 莫过于 means “nothing goes beyond”: 莫 is “none”, 过 “to exceed”.
How it is built
最 + adjective/verb phrase + 的 (，) + 莫过于 + noun phrase or short clause: 最让人想家的莫过于妈妈做的饭 (Nothing makes you more homesick than Mum’s cooking).
When to use it
Formal-sounding; at home in essays, features and speeches. A comma after 的 is common in writing. In casual speech say 最…的就是… instead.
Watch out
Keep the 的, and do not add 是, since 莫过于 already contains the verb: ✗最让人想家莫过于是妈妈做的饭。 ✓最让人想家的莫过于妈妈做的饭。
Examples
最能体现广东人养生观念的，莫过于这样一锅老火汤。
Nothing sums up the Cantonese idea of looking after one’s health better than a pot of soup like this.
出门在外，最让人想家的莫过于妈妈做的饭。
When you are far from home, nothing makes you more homesick than your mother’s cooking.
煲汤最怕的莫过于火太大，汤烧干了还不知道。
The worst thing that can happen to a soup is too high a flame, so that it boils dry before you notice.
Learn this in Lesson 136 · HSK 7–9: 一锅老火汤 (A pot of slow-cooked soup)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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