Names for the number 0

There are several names for the number 0 in different languages.

Arabic

The name for the number zero in Arabic is "صفر" (sifr).

Chinese

Look up 零 in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The character 零 (pinyin: líng) means "zero" in Chinese, although 〇 is also common. Etymologically 零 is an onomatopoeic word for "light rain". The upper part of the character is 雨, meaning "rain", and the lower part is 令 (lìng), for the sound. ^[1]

Dutch

The name of the number 0 in Dutch is "nul" /nyl/.

English

French

The name of the number 0 in French is "zéro" /zeʁo/.

German

The name of the number 0 in German is "Null". (Although whether the first letter of number names should be capitalized – like all nouns are – or not is disputed.)

Greek

The name of the number 0 in Greek is "μηδέν" /miːðɛn/, literally meaning "not even one".

Gujarati

The name of the number 0 in Gujarati is "શૂન્ય" (Śūn'ya).

Haitian Creole

The name of the number 0 in Haitian Creole is "zewo".

Hebrew

In Hebrew, zero is called אֶפֶס (efes).

Indonesian

The name of the number 0 in Indonesian language is "nol" /nɔl/, adopted from the Dutch word nul. In addition, people often pronounce it as "kosong" /kɔsɔŋ/, literally meaning 'empty', when spelling telephone numbers.

Japanese

The character 零 (read rei) means "zero" in Japanese, although 〇 is also common. However, in common usage, ゼロ/ぜろ (read zero) is preferred, as it is a direct adaptation of the English equivalent.

Korean

The name of the number 0 in Korean is Hangul: 영; Hanja: 零; RR: yeong or Hangul: 공; Hanja: 空; RR: gong.

Portuguese

The name of the number 0 in Portuguese is "zero". It is pronounced /zæro/.

Romanian

The name of the number 0 in Romanian is "zero".

Russian

The name of the number 0 in Russian is "ноль" or "нуль".

Turkish

The name of the number 0 in Turkish is "sıfır".^[2]

References