CANTONESE ↔ ENGLISH · CC-CANTO

零

Cantonese · source Jyutpingleng4#

used after a number or a quantifier to indicate 'a little more than'

Cantonese · source Jyutpinglin4#

name of an ancient tribe

Cantonese · source Jyutpingling4#

zero
nought
zero sign
fractional
fragmentary
odd (of numbers)
(placed between two numbers to indicate a smaller quantity followed by a larger one)
fraction
(in mathematics) remainder (after division)
extra
to wither and fall
to wither

About these definitions

Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.

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Reading & tones

leng44 · low falling

lin44 · low falling

ling44 · low falling

Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.

Reading difference from Unihan

零 has the reading leng4 here; Unihan’s citation reading is ling4. Different syllable across these source readings. CC-Canto also lists 零 leng4 as its own entry.

Computed by zimai: each syllable of the CC-Canto word reading is compared with Unihan 17.0.0 kCantonese for its character. The comparison does not say why a reading differs (a changed tone, 變音, a reading tied to one meaning, or a source variant).

Same syllable, six tones

lengleng1—leng2—靓leng3beautifulleng4—leng5—leng6—

Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.

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Written characters

零

Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.

Cantonese characters and the Mandarin bridge ↗

Mandarin comparison · separate source entries

CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:

零 líng CC-CEDICT · Mandarinzero; nought; zero sign; fractional; fragmentary; odd (of numbers); (placed between two numbers to indicate a smaller quantity followed by a larger one); fraction; …

A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.

CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: ling2. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.

Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 11 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

lin4 · ling4

Cantonese word readings for 零. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

fragmentary; scattered
fraction; remainder
zero
(Cantonese, Hakka, Northern Min, Eastern Min) Used after a number or a classifier to express a small remaining quantity.
(gay slang) bottom
(obsolete) drizzle
(literary, of precipitation or tears) to fall
(of plants or flowers) to wither and fall
(Cantonese, cant, in 之辰代碼 /之辰代码) six
a surname

character · Etymology 2

only used in 先零／先零 and 西零／西零 (Xīlián)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack