零时 (líng shí) — midnight, 12:00 AM; (military) zero hour, the critical moment

Definition

零时 (língshí) names the moment of midnight (00:00) and, in military contexts, the scheduled start time of an operation. The character 零 (líng) means 'zero', so 零时 literally reads 'zero hour'.

noun
midnight12:00 AM(military) zero hourthe critical moment
Easily confused

Examples

  • 零时。
    Huǒ chē jiāng zài líng shí chū fā.
    The train will depart at midnight.
  • 零时，。
    Cóng líng shí kāi shǐ, xīn de yì tiān jiù kāi shǐ le.
    From midnight, a new day begins.
  • 零时。
    Xíng dòng zài líng shí zhǔn shí kāi shǐ.
    The operation began precisely at zero hour.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

零língzero
时shíhour

零 gives the number zero, and 时 gives hour, so it means the zero hour.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng零líng
Same sound today

In 零, the 雨 part depicts thick raindrops falling from the sky; the 令 part gives the sound.

Open 零 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

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