零
Spell out: + =
zero; nought; zero sign; fractional; fragmentary; odd (of numbers); (placed between two numbers to indicate a smaller quantity followed by a larger one); fraction; (in mathematics) remainder (after division); extra; to wither and fall; to wither
13 strokes
Dict coverage rank #870 U+96F6
How 零 is formed
Phono-semantic compound (形声字)
雨 (semantic, “raindrop”) + 令 (phonetic, lìng)
How to remember it
zero · Heisig RSH #1115
雨 rain + 令 orders
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Phonetic series: characters sharing the sound component 令
Siblings built with the same phonetic component 令 (lìng) — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 令 sound component | lìng | command, decree, order; magistrate; to allow, to cause |
| 领 | lǐng | neck, collar; lead, guide |
| 冷 | lěng | cold, cool; lonely |
| 岭 | lǐng | mountain ridge, mountain peak |
| 邻 | lín | neighbor; neighborhood |
| 龄 | líng | age; years |
| 铃 | líng | small bell |
| 怜 | lián | to pity, to sympathize with |
| 伶 | líng | clever; lonely, solitary |
| 玲 | líng | the tinkling of jewelry |
| 羚 | líng | a species of antelope |
| 鸰 | líng | lark, wagtail; Motacilla species (various) |
| 苓 | líng | fungus, tuber; licorice |
| 蛉 | líng | dragonfly, sandfly; Libellulidae |
| 呤 | lìng | purine |
| 囹 | líng | prison, enclosure |
| 拎 | līn | to lift, to haul, to take |
| 翎 | líng | plume, tail feathers |
| 聆 | líng | to hear, to listen |
Words containing 零
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 地面零点 | Dì miàn Líng diǎn | Ground Zero (refers to the site of the World Trade Center destroyed in 9-11-2001 attack) |
| 地面零点 | dì miàn líng diǎn | ground zero |
| 零点定理 | líng diǎn dìng lǐ | Hilbert's zeros theorem (math.); Nullstellensatz |
| 零号病人 | líng hào bìng rén | (epidemiology) patient zero |
| 一千零一夜 | Yī qiān líng yī yè | One Thousand and One Nights; Arabian Nights |
| 零用金 | líng yòng jīn | petty cash |
| 公共零点 | gōng gòng líng diǎn | common zeros (of system of equations) |
| 零起点 | líng qǐ diǎn | from zero; from scratch; beginners' (course); for beginners |
| 零点能 | líng diǎn néng | zero-point energy (quantum mechanical vacuum effect) |
| 零点五 | líng diǎn wǔ | 0.5; a half |
| 动态清零 | dòng tài qīng líng | zero-COVID (policy) |
| 零工经济 | líng gōng jīng jì | gig economy |
| 绝对零度 | jué duì líng dù | absolute zero |
| 零头 | líng tóu | odd; scrap; remainder |
| 零花钱 | líng huā qián | pocket money; allowance |
| 零下 | líng xià | below zero (esp. temperature) |
| 零声母 | líng shēng mǔ | (Chinese linguistics) zero initial (the initial of a syllable that does not begin with a c… |
| 零数 | líng shù | the part of a number which is discarded when rounding down |
| 零日 | líng rì | zero-day (attack, vulnerability etc) (computing) |
| 零工 | líng gōng | temporary job; odd job |