diff --git a/libs/core/langchain_core/prompts/string.py b/libs/core/langchain_core/prompts/string.py
index a689fb4b6b86f..be1012378c63e 100644
--- a/libs/core/langchain_core/prompts/string.py
+++ b/libs/core/langchain_core/prompts/string.py
@@ -122,13 +122,16 @@ def mustache_formatter(template: str, /, **kwargs: Any) -> str:
 def mustache_template_vars(
     template: str,
 ) -> set[str]:
-    """Get the variables from a mustache template.
+    """Get the top-level variables from a mustache template.
+
+    For nested variables like `{{person.name}}`, only the top-level
+    key (`person`) is returned.
 
     Args:
         template: The template string.
 
     Returns:
-        The variables from the template.
+        The top-level variables from the template.
     """
     variables: set[str] = set()
     section_depth = 0