HSK 2 · Numbers

零 líng “zero” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 零 means

  1. zero
  2. nought
  3. zero sign
  4. fractional
  5. fragmentary
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • odd (of numbers)

How to say 零

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale零líng2nd tone, rising

零 in a sentence

  1. 零在一前面。

    Líng zài yī qiánmiàn.

    Zero comes before one.

    Sentence #816566 from Tatoeba

  2. 今天早上温度降到了零下。

    Jīntiān zǎoshang wēndù jiàng dào le língxià.

    The temperature dropped below zero this morning.

    Sentence #634829 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 她有一千零一个愿望。

    Tā yǒu yì qiān líng yí ge yuànwàng.

    She has a thousand and one wishes.

    Sentence #1750549 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 零 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 零 (líng) with each of its parts in a different colour
零língzero
  • 雨rain · yǔMeaning part
  • 令command · língSound part

雨 hints at the meaning (rain); 令 (líng) hints at the sound. Compare it with líng.

How to write 零

零 13 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

零 (líng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it
Stroke order chart for 零 (líng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 零

Words with 零

零钱língqián · change (of money)零食língshí · between-meal nibbles零件língjiàn · part零星língxīng · scattered

More words: Numbers & Money

一yī · one十shí · ten百bǎi · hundred第一dìyī · first件jiàn · measure word for clothes千qiān · thousand两liǎng · two (of)次cì · times

FAQs

零 (líng) means “zero” or “nought”. It is an HSK 2 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it líng: líng with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 零 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type ling with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 零 from the suggestions. Typing ling into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
零 is an HSK 2 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.