零 (líng): zero, nought, zero sign
零 (líng) is a Chinese character meaning “zero.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 雨 (semantic) and 令 (phonetic). It ranks #1334 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 零 raindrop. Its radical form 雨 (rain) appears in many related characters such as 雨 (yǔ, rain), 雪 (xuě, snow), 需 (xū, to need).
Definitions
- zero
- nought
- zero sign
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 零 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 零
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 零钱noun | líng qián | change (of money) | 4 |
| 零食noun | líng shí | snack | 4 |
| 零花钱noun | líng huā qián | pocket money | 4 |
| 零下adjective | líng xià | below zero (esp. temperature) | 4 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 零件noun | líng jiàn | part |
| 孤零零adjective | gū líng líng | lone |
| 零售verb | líng shòu | to retail |
| 零用钱noun | líng yòng qián | pocket money |
| 零售商noun | líng shòu shāng | retailer |
| 零点noun | líng diǎn | midnight |
| 零碎adjective | líng suì | scattered and fragmentary |
| 零度noun | líng dù | zero degree |
| 凋零verb | diāo líng | withered |
| 零星adjective | líng xīng | fragmentary |
| 零工noun | líng gōng | temporary job |
| 零头noun | líng tóu | odd |
| 零部件noun | líng bù jiàn | spare part |
| 零时noun | líng shí | midnight |
| 零散adjective | líng sǎn | scattered |
零 appears in 92 compound words: 65 as the first character, 21 as the last, and 14 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 零 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
to shed tears of gratitude; to be overwhelmingly moved by another person's kindness
Showing 11 of 12 idioms containing 零.
Example Sentences
说实话，我不太同意这个看法，但我会尊重你的意见。
Shuō shíhuà, wǒ bù tài tóngyì zhè gè kànfǎ, dàn wǒ huì zūnzhòng nǐ de yìjiàn.
To be honest, I don't quite agree with this view, but I will respect your opinion.
低糖零食有哪些?魔芋爽、原味海苔、蛋白棒可以吗
dī táng líng shí yǒu nǎ xiē ? mó 芋 shuǎng , yuán wèi hǎi 苔 , dàn bái bàng kě yǐ ma
What are the low-sugar snacks? Can konjac cool, original seaweed, and protein bars be accepted?
用麦芽糖做零食大全可行吗?麦芽糖本身含糖不算无糖食品...
yòng mài yá táng zuò líng shí dà quán kě háng ma ? mài yá táng běn shēn hán táng bù suàn wú táng shí pǐn . . .
Is it possible to use maltose as a snack encyclopedia? Maltose itself contains sugar and is not considered a sugar-free food...
...年假比上班还累?教你简单4招让身心快速归零
. . . nián jiǎ bǐ shàng bān hái lěi ? jiào nǐ jiǎn dān 4 zhāo ràng shēn xīn kuài sù guī líng
... Is annual leave more tiring than going to work? Teach you 4 simple tricks to quickly zero your body and mind
豫哈零碳协作,让河南产业援疆“沉下去”“实起来...
yù hā líng tàn xié zuò , ràng hé nán chǎn yè yuán jiāng chén xià qù shí qǐ lái . . .
Zero-carbon collaboration between Henan and Kazakhstan, so that Henan's industrial aid "sinking" and "real up...
坐拥百万粉丝的他,为何归零重启,一头扎进金山田野?
zuò yōng bǎi mò fěn sī de tā , wéi hé guī líng chóng qǐ , yī tóu zhā jìn jīn shān tián yě ?
He has millions of followers, why did he go back to zero and reboot, headlong into the Jinshan field?
请你帮我换一点零钱行吗？
Qǐng nǐ bāng wǒ huàn yīdiǎn língqián xíng ma?
Could you please exchange some small change with me?
我们有任何我可以当零食吃的东西吗？
Wǒmen yǒu rènhé wǒ kěyǐ dāng língshí chī de dōngxi ma?
Do we have anything I can snack on?
你为什么需要零钱?
Nǐ wèishénme xūyào língqián?
Why do you need change?
温度计往往低于零度。
Wēndùjì wǎngwǎng dīyú língdù.
Thermometers often go below zero.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 雨 (raindrop) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 零 (líng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 零 and 冷?
How many strokes does 零 have?
What is the radical of 零?
What are the components of 零?
What are common words containing 零?
What characters sound the same as 零 (líng)?
Is 零 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 零 with real-time feedback
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