"Zero" or "zero" - how to speak and write correctly

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Each of us at least once was interested in how to speak and write correctly - "zero" or "zero"? Some linguists argue that there is no fundamental difference between the two terms, but they are not entirely correct. "Zero" and "zero" are considered completely different words, each of which has its own meaning.

Origin of words

The word "zero" first appeared in Russian in the Peter the Great era, when the borrowing of various words and expressions from the West was widespread. The term was a combination of Dutch "nul" and German "Null", transformed into Russian.

"Zero", also used in some cases and recorded in dictionaries at about the same time as "zero", may also have originated from the Swedish "noll" or the German "Noll". It is interesting that in the explanatory dictionary of V. I. Dahl, you can find a dictionary entry that reveals the concept of "zero", in which "zero" is indicated as a possible use case.

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The word "zero" in a certain context is gradually disappearing from the Russian language, and most often the rule of its use refers us to stable expressions and the use of indirect cases:

• null;
• cut to zero;
• reduce to zero;
• zero years;
• the indicator is at zero;
• start from scratch.

There is one more simple rule of using the word "zero": the letter "y" is put in those cases when no stress falls on it. For example, between the words "zeros" or "zeros", "zeros" or "zeros", we intuitively choose the second option.

How to write correctly

In scientific and professional terminology, the word "zero" is much more common. This is due to the fact that it is closer to the original Latin spelling nullus, therefore it is more convenient for scientists and researchers. In the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary, for example, "zero" is even designated as the only correct option.

As a rule, the choice falls to "zero" when it is adjacent to words in the singular or used as a mathematical term or name for a number. When choosing between the words "zero" and "zero", preference is usually given to the former, but it is always worth considering the context in which you are going to use the controversial word.

Despite the fact that the existence of stable expressions suggests choosing "y" instead of "o", similar phrases with the word "zero" are also actively used by native speakers:

• get a haircut to zero;
• zero attention;
• zero without stick;
• zero-zero (about the score in the game or the time on the clock).

If you are more interested in free use, rather than phraseological expressions, then "zero" is now the norm of the modern Russian language, but "zero" is almost archaism, a word that has almost completely outlived its usefulness.

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Language is a living and constantly changing organism. Some words leave it completely, and new norms of use come to replace them. Probably, soon with the word "zero" the same thing can happen as it once did with the "number", completely replaced by the "number" we are used to now.

Not always even professionals can give a clear answer about the correctness of using this or that expression, because more often linguistic norms do not have time to be fixed due to the rapidly changing surrounding reality. The understanding of the need to use new expressions comes to Russian speakers almost intuitively and does not require expert confirmation.

It turns out, despite the difference in origin and use, the meaning that originally distinguished “zero” and “zero” cannot be given an exact answer to the question of how to correctly speak and write this word.

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