Meaning of 〇
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- zero
How to use 〇
〇 is mostly used inside numbers written with Chinese characters, especially years and dates. For example, 二〇二四年 (èr líng èr sì nián) means the year 2024. In everyday writing of amounts, people more often use the character 零 (líng) or the Arabic digit 0.
〇 (líng) is simply a round circle, the same shape as the zero you already know. An empty ring holds nothing, so it means zero.
Common mistake: Learners often type the English letter O or the digit 0 when they mean 〇, but in Chinese text 〇 is its own character and should be used when writing years like 一九〇〇. Also, do not confuse it with the small circle 。 used as a Chinese full stop, which is smaller and sits low on the line.
〇 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
Questions about 〇
What does 〇 mean?
〇 (líng) means "zero" and is used as a numeral.
How do you write 〇?
〇 is made of 1 character: 〇 (? strokes). That is 0 strokes in total.
Is 〇 an HSK word?
Yes. 〇 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 〇 and 零?
Both are read líng and mean zero. 〇 is used mainly as a single digit inside character numbers, such as years. 零 is the more formal and general word, used in amounts like 一百零五 (yìbǎi líng wǔ, 105) and on checks or in speech about zero.
How do I say a phone number or room number with zero in it?
You read the zero as líng, digit by digit. For example, room 302 is said sān líng èr. Note that in phone and room numbers, 1 is often read yāo instead of yī.