零

• 拼音: líng
• 汉字拆解: 零 = 雨 (rain) + 令 (phonetic component) — originally small raindrops, extended to mean zero

含义

Zero. The number 0.

Used in phone numbers, room numbers, temperatures, and maths. In multi-digit numbers, 零 is used to indicate a zero in the middle (一百零一 = 101). Also used for zero degrees (零度) and as the starting point.

例句

1. 今天零度。
2. 我的房间号是三零五。
3. 一百零三个学生。

用法指南

语境: numbers, temperature, everyday

语气: neutral

正确说法

• 我的电话号码里有三个零。(My phone number has three zeros.)
• 房间号是二零八。(The room number is 208.)

错误说法

• 我有零个朋友。(Unnatural — say 我没有朋友 instead of using 零 with a measure word this way)

起源与历史

The character originally meant 'tiny drops of rain' (containing the rain radical 雨). The meaning of zero came from the concept of something remaining or left over, then nothing.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal