Zero Talk: Fun Ways to Say „Zero“ in English

Zero, the absence of value, has many different names in English. Here are some fun and interesting ways to say „zero“:

1. Nil – Often used in sports (especially in football), like „The score is two-nil.“
2. Nought – Commonly used in British English, especially in numbers, like „nought point five“ (0.5).
3. Zilch – A slang term meaning nothing at all. “We had zilch results.”
4. Nada – Borrowed from Spanish, also means nothing. “It won’t cost you anything—nothing, nada.”
5. Goose Egg – Informal, often used in sports to indicate a score of zero. “His final score was a big goose egg.”
6. Oh – Used in telephone numbers, like “five-oh-five“ or James Bond’s code number “double-oh-seven.”
7. Love – Used in tennis scoring, where „love“ means zero.
8. Zip — Commonly used in American English. “I know zip about chemistry.”
9. Not a dicky bird — A lovely old-fashioned idiom meaning “nothing at all.”  “I’ve not heard a dicky bird from Simon lately.”

These different terms make the English language rich and interesting, don’t you think?

So next time you need to say „zero,“ try using one of these alternatives. Or if you want to be easily understood, just stick to „zero.“ It’s a safe choice!

Now I’m curious. What about your native language or other languages you’ve studied? Do you have different words for zero?