The kanji 零 primarily conveys the idea of "zero," "nothing," or "to drop" or "fall." It can also indicate "a little" or "a small amount." This core meaning relates to the concept of emptiness, absence, or the beginning point.

・On-yomi (音読み): レイ (rei) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ゼロ (zero), こぼ.れる (kobo.reru) - to spill, to overflow

⚫︎零時 Translation: Midnight, zero o'clock ⚫︎零点 Translation: Zero point, a score of zero ⚫︎零れる Translation: To spill, to overflow (using the kun-yomi reading)

The kanji 零 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is 雨 (ame, "rain") indicating "something that falls" and the right side is 令 (rei, "command," "order," but also with a phonetic component), suggesting "a sound that falls". Together, the components create the meaning of "to fall," or "to drop," which then evolved to its meaning of "zero" or "nothing" or "a small amount". The character's visual representation has remained relatively stable throughout its history, with variations mainly in the stroke order over time.