The sun sets in the bushes when the night falls. This was the original meaning of 莫. 暮 was created to substitute 莫 for that meaning and the meaning of 莫 was changed to “no/not/none”
A person can’t see clearly when the sun sets in the bushes, so he needs to 摸feel/touch/grope for to find out the way.
The meaning of 摸 in modern Chinese
1. (轻抚) to feel, 大理石摸起来很光滑。Marble is smooth to the touch. 摸孩子的脸 stroke a child’s face
2. (探取) to fish for, 她从口袋里摸出一个硬币 She fished out a coin from one’s pocket
3. (探求) to sound out, 摸摸他对这一问题的看法 sound him out on this matter; 摸出一套记新词的方法 test out a number of methods for memorizing new words
4. (摸索) to grope for in the dark, 妈妈在黑暗中摸找开关 mom felt about in the dark for the light switch
Set phrases with 摸
偷偷摸摸、
偷鸡摸狗、
顺藤摸瓜、
浑水摸鱼、
捉摸不定、
众人摸象、
群盲摸象、
合眼摸象、
暗中摸索、
摸金校尉、
摸不着边、
偷东摸西、
瞎子摸鱼、
盲人摸象、
摸鸡偷狗、
东捞西摸、
摸门不着、
梭天摸地、
摸棱两可、
不可捉摸、
瞎子摸象、