〇

See also: Appendix:Variations of "o", 0, ㇣, ㅇ, and ◯

〇 U+3007, 〇 IDEOGRAPHIC NUMBER ZERO ← 〆 [U+3006] CJK Symbols and Punctuation 〈 → [U+3008]

Chinese

Glyph origin 1

It is considered a placeholder for a missing Chinese character. Used to express a zero digit in a number since at least the (c.) 12th century, perhaps even earlier than the concept "zero" appeared in the Chinese language. Also written as □ in early literature.

Definitions

For pronunciation and definitions of 〇 – see 零 (“zero”). (This character is a variant form of 零).

For pronunciation and definitions of 〇 – see 空 (“zero”). (This character is a variant form of 空).

See also

Chinese numbers
	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	102	103	104	106	108	1012
Normal (小寫 / 小写)	〇, 零, 空	一, 蜀	二, 兩 / 两	三	四	五	六	七	八	九	十	百	千	萬 / 万, 十千 (Malaysia, Singapore)	百萬 / 百万, 桶(Philippines), 面桶 (Philippines)	億 / 亿	兆 (Taiwan) 萬億 / 万亿 (Mainland China)
Financial (大寫 / 大写)	零	壹	貳 / 贰	參 / 叁	肆	伍	陸 / 陆	柒	捌	玖	拾	佰	仟

In Min Nan numbers, the vernacular (白) pronunciation is the more common pronunciation, while the literary (文) reading is used for reading numbers out loud, such as in phone numbers. Please note that this usage is similar to the usage of the variant 幺 for the numeral 一 in Mandarin.

Glyph origin 2

Coined by Chinese empress regnant Wu Zetian. One of the Chinese characters of Empress Wu.

Definitions

For pronunciation and definitions of 〇 – see 星 (“star; planet; heavenly body; etc.”). (This character is a variant form of 星).

Japanese

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English zero.

Alternative forms

• 零

Symbol

〇(ゼロ) • (zero) 

1. Used to write zero in kanji positional notation.

   二〇〇七(にせんしち)年(ねん)七(しち)月(がつ)二三(にじゅうさん)日(にち)

   nisenshichi nen shichigatsu nijūsannichi

   July 23, 2007

Etymology 2

Symbol

〇

1. See ○ for the plain circle.

Vietnamese

Symbol

〇

1. Used as a paragraph separator.

Zhuang

Numeral

〇

1. Sawndip form of lingz (“zero”)