zéro
/ze.ʁo/masculine
The English word 'zero' is translated into French as zéro.
zéro is a masculine cardinal number used to denote nothing or the value before 1.
Meaning: cardinal number before 1, denoting nothing (num)
Is it said differently in some regions?
The term zéro is universally understood across all French-speaking regions.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ze.ʁo/. It has 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- In the French grading system for schools, a zéro is rare because teachers often avoid giving a completely empty score to avoid discouraging students.
- In French slang, calling someone un zéro is a common way to call them a 'loser' or a 'nobody'.
- In French, the word zéro is also a doublet of chiffre, both stemming from the same Arabic origin.
Examples in context
- On part de zéro.We're starting from zero.This sentence shows how to use zéro when starting from nothing.Tatoeba #11217818 by lbdx, translation #8579710 by CK
- Zéro vient avant un.Zero comes before one.This sentence illustrates the position of zéro in a numerical sequence.Tatoeba #967898 by sacredceltic, translation #682520 by Source_VOA
- Zéro est un nombre pair.Zero is an even number.This sentence uses zéro to describe its mathematical property as an even number.Tatoeba #13701643 by Rovo, translation #13701547 by araneo
- Je n'ai aucun intérêt pour ce filmI have zero interest in that movie.
- 34 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucas and Léa are checking the score of a game.
- LucasQuel est le score actuel ?What is the current score?
- LéaC'est zéro partout pour l'instant.It is zero all for now.
- LucasC'est un match très serré.It is a very tight match.
- LéaOui, personne n'a encore marqué.Yes, nobody has scored yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “zero” translations and entries zéro, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries zéro, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
