Chinese word

零头

Pronunciation

Pinyinlíng tóu

Meaning

  • nounsmall change

Example

钱包里只有几块零头，不够买咖啡。qián bāo lǐ zhí yǒu jǐ kuài líng tóu bú gòu mǎi kā fēi

The wallet contains only a few yuan in loose change, not enough to buy coffee.

Illustration for 零头 (small change)

More examples

付现金后，店员把零头找给了我。fù xiàn jīn hòu diàn yuán bǎ líng tóu zhǎo gěi le wǒ

After I paid in cash, the clerk gave me the change.

Core concept

A minor remainder sitting at the edge of an otherwise complete total.

Common phrases

  • 零头钱líng tóu qián

    small change

  • 几块零头jǐ kuài líng tóu

    a few yuan in change

  • 找回零头zhǎo huí líng tóu

    get the change back

Similar words

零钱líng qián: Coins and other small amounts of cash used for everyday payments.
找零zhǎo líng: The extra money given back after paying too much.
端数duān shù: The part of a calculated amount that remains outside the whole-number total.

Definition in Chinese

指在付款或结算时不能凑成整单位的那一小笔金额，也可泛指数量上未达到整数的零散部分（即端数、余数）。zhǐ zài fù kuǎn huò jié suàn shí bù néng còu chéng zhěng dān wèi de nà yì xiǎo bǐ jīn é yě kě fàn zhǐ shù liàng shàng wèi dá dào zhěng shù de líng sǎn bù fèn jí duān shù yú shù

Word origin

零 (líng, "scattered") + 头 (tóu, "end or portion") describes the small portion left beyond a complete amount.

Usage tips

  • Outside shopping, it can describe the leftover part of a count or measurement, so its use extends beyond money.

Other meanings

  • remaindernoun
  • balancenoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word