ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

零 líng zero

zero; small bits

How to remember 零: 雨 rain + 令 command = zero. The rain pours down on the football pitch until the referee gives the command to stop, with the score still at zero.

  • 1,342. most frequent character
  • HSK 1
  • 13 strokes
  • Radical 雨

Component breakdown

形声 · Meaning + sound

One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.

零 = 雨 rain + 令 command

  • 雨 rain meaning
  • 令 command sound
The Gushi story

The rain pours down on the football pitch until the referee gives the command to stop, with the score still at zero.

How it came to be

In the small seal, rain on top gives the meaning and the part below gives the sound.

How it is used

  • The number zero, and 'small/odd/fractional bits': 零钱 (língqián) loose change, 零食 (língshí) snacks, 零件 (língjiàn) spare parts.
  • In spoken numbers it fills an internal gap: 一百零五 (yìbǎi líng wǔ) 105, 二零二六 (èr líng èr liù) 2026.
  • 零下 (língxià) means below zero (temperature); 零售 (língshòu) is retail (selling in small quantities).

Words with 零

Example sentences

  • 现在的气温是零度。 Xiànzài de qìwēn shì líng dù.The current temperature is zero degrees.
  • 店主给我找零钱。 Diànzhǔ gěi wǒ zhǎo língqián.The shop owner gave me the change.