Abstract: In Chinese, we may use the Arabic numeral “0” to express the concept of nothing, and we also use the small Chinese character “○”, the capital Chinese character “零” as well. But in English, besides the numeral “0”, people usually use the English word “zero”. In addition, other expressions such as cipher, cypher, love, nil, nix, null, nothing, naught, nought and O in English are also used in different situations. Even in the same language, we should consider the concept of the numeral “0” and choose the right expressions, and should pay attention to the conceptual differences of “0” and choose the right word in Chinese-English translation.

Key words: numeral “0”, origin, concept, diction, difference