German · Time, Numbers & Colors

"Zero" in German: null

null

Say it: noolnumber/nʊl/

Zero in German is null. In phone numbers you say each digit, including null. A 0–0 score is null zu null.

Reading a phone number

Meine Vorwahl endet mit null.
My area code ends with zero.
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How to pronounce null

Say it

nool

/nʊl/

nool. Short u, clear double l.

"Zero" in German: quick reference

GermanEnglish
nullzero

Number name.

null Uhrmidnight (00:00)

Clock talk.

null zu nullzero to zero

Sports scores.

bei null anfangento start from zero

Figurative.

How to use null in real life

  1. 1Reading a phone number

    Meine Vorwahl endet mit null.

    My area code ends with zero.

    Null digit.

  2. 2Soccer score

    Es steht immer noch null zu null.

    It's still zero to zero.

    Null zu null.

  3. 3Budget talk

    Dieses Monat bleibt null übrig.

    This month zero is left over.

    Null as amount.

Mistakes English speakers make with null

Incorrect: zero sagen auf Deutsch

Correct: null

Use null, not English zero, in German speech.

Incorrect: Nullen Uhr

Correct: null Uhr

Midnight as time is null Uhr.

Good to know

Phone numbers spell every null. On forms, Germans write 0; when reading aloud they almost always say null, not oh.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Checking a PIN reminder

  1. ChatPal

    Beginnt der Code mit null?

    Does the code start with zero?

  2. You

    Ja, null, dann vier, dann zwei.

    Yes, zero, then four, then two.

  3. ChatPal

    Noch mal: null-vier-zwei?

    Again: zero-four-two?

  4. You

    Genau. Ohne null geht die Karte nicht.

    Exactly. Without zero the card won't work.

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"Zero" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "Zero" in German

How do you say zero?

Null.

Phone numbers?

Say each digit; 0 is null.

0–0 score?

Null zu null.

Midnight?

Null Uhr.

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