líng

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

rain (雨) + sound líng (令) = scattered drops, zero, fragments

Rain scattering into countless small droplets gave rise to the sense of fragments and remainders — the scattered few left over after the whole is accounted for. 令 mainly provides the sound líng; the rain radical carries the meaning.

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CommandPhonetic
RainSemantic

Words with 零

雕零

diāo líng

variant of 凋零[diao1 ling2]

零工

líng gōng

temporary job; odd job

鸡零狗碎

jī líng gǒu suì

in pieces

零花钱

líng huā qián

pocket money

零和博弈

líng hé bó yì

zero-sum game (economics)

零数

líng shù

the part of a number which is discarded when rounding down

零丁

líng dīng

variant of 伶仃[ling2 ding1]

零下

líng xià

below zero (esp. temperature)

零乱

líng luàn

in disorder

零件

líng jiàn

part

零备件

líng bèi jiàn

spare part

零八宪章

líng bā xiàn zhāng

Charter 08, PRC pro-democracy petition of December 2008

More characters with 雨