Chinese word

零

Pronunciation

Pinyinlíng

Meaning

  • numberzero

Example

我有零元。wǒ yǒu líng yuán

I have zero yuan.

Illustration for 零 (zero)

More examples

现在是零点。xiàn zài shì líng diǎn

It is midnight now.

Core concept

A gap in a count where no units stand, also suggesting only a few scattered pieces.

Common phrases

  • 零点líng diǎn

    midnight

  • 零分líng fēn

    zero points

Similar words

一yī: Means the number 1.
二èr: Means the number 2.
三sān: Means the number 3.
四sì: Means the number 4.

Definition in Chinese

表示数位上没有数量的数词，即数字0，用作占位符；也可指零散或极少的东西。biǎo shì shù wèi shàng méi yǒu shù liàng de shù cí jí shù zì 0 yòng zuò zhàn wèi fú yě kě zhǐ líng sàn huò jí shǎo de dōng xī

Word origin

零 (líng, "zero") combines 雨 (yǔ, "rain") with 令 (lìng, "command") as a sound element; its early sense involved falling or scattered rain, later extending to small remnants and the number zero.

Usage tips

  • In a Chinese number, an internal zero is read aloud, but ending zeros are usually left unspoken, so 1200 is read as one thousand two hundred.

Related words

Word lists with this word