Chinese word

零点

Pronunciation

Pinyinlíng diǎn

Meaning

  • nounmidnight

Example

新年钟声在零点响起。xīn nián zhōng shēng zài líng diǎn xiáng qǐ

The New Year's bells ring at midnight.

Illustration for 零点 (midnight)

More examples

她在零点之前发了消息。tā zài líng diǎn zhī qián fā le xiāo xī

She sent a message before midnight.

Core concept

The boundary on the clock where one date ends and the next date begins.

Common phrases

  • 零点之前líng diǎn zhī qián

    before midnight

  • 零点以后líng diǎn yǐ hòu

    after midnight

Similar words

晚上十二点wǎn shàng shí èr diǎn: A common conversational expression for the time at 12 at night.
零时líng shí: A formal term for midnight used to state an exact time.
午夜wǔ yè: The nighttime period around the middle of the night, without a precise clock time.

Definition in Chinese

表示一天开始的时刻，即午夜的0点，指日历日期从前一日切换到次日的那一刻。biǎo shì yì tiān kāi shǐ de shí kè jí wǔ yè de 0 diǎn zhǐ rì lì rì qī cóng qián yí rì qiē huàn dào cì rì de nà yí kè

Word origin

零 (líng, "zero") + 点 (diǎn, "o'clock") literally means zero on the clock, giving the word its precise time reference.

Usage tips

  • English 12 a.m. can cause confusion about which day is meant, while 零点 (língdiǎn, "midnight") clearly marks the change to a new calendar date.

Opposites

  • 正午zhèng wǔnoonnoun

Word lists with this word