Why We Say 'O' instead of 'Zero' for Numbers

Mr. Beat explains why English speakers often say "o" instead of "zero."

Produced by Matt Beat, who, as it turns out, is Mr. Beat.

Sources/further reading:

Join this channel to get access to perks:

For business inquiries or to send snail mail to Mr. Beat:

Connect with me:

How to support Mr. Beat:
“Free” ways to show support:
✔️Subscribe to my channel
⏰Turn on notifications
👍Like, share, and comment on my videos

Buy Mr. Beat merch:

Buy Mr. Beat's book:

Affiliate Links:

#worldhistory #linguistics #history

Why do we say “O” instead of zero for numbers?

No one knows exactly when this started, but it likely goes back to the Middle Ages. During this time, people used the Latin alphabet to write numbers, and eventually they used the letter “o” to represent zero. It’s also worth noting that the English language didn’t even have a word for zero until much later than other parts of the world. When English speakers DID have a word for it, they often said “naught,” which basically means “nothing.”

I mean it means something, which is nothing. Clear as mud?

Anyway, later on, English speakers said “o” instead of zero because it looks so similar to zero, especially after telephones and typewriters became common household items. And let’s just face it, in the modern age, “o” is just a bit easier to say than “zero.” We’re lazy bums.

[osberswgaming]

They call me 007

0 friends
0 good grades
7 years in jail

[daniellanctot]

“We’re lazy bums”... That was all the explanations needed!

[theodorehadley]

For the past year I have tried to say zero instead of o when talking to others. Interesting how far back this goes.

[DavidBugea]

Working in banking and finance, in the days before email and encrypted messaging we’d have to provide our accounting and wire transfer folks with amounts, account numbers and such over the phone. To avoid errors we weren’t allowed to say “oh” for “zero, ” or to combine digits when speaking numbers: 1024 was “one, zero, two, four, ” never “ten twenty four.” So to this day I still tend to say zero, and speak each digit individually.

[caryrodda]

That is very interesting. I never would have guessed it goes back as far as that; I would have just figured it began in the telephone age.

[AKingofBacon]

I have always been a 'zero' purist. Zero deserves respect!

[paulcooper]

Jethro Bodine would call James Bond a double naught spy.

[sagetmaster]

You'll hear naught a fair amount in different scenarios in UK English like "naught point oh" for 0.0 interestingly for metal gauges in America English the word "aught" is used for zero

[davidtomasetti]

I do not say oh when I mean zero, it avoids confusion

[randomjunkohyeah]

“Naught” is still used, especially in certain STEM contexts

[tym]

The connection is as simple as O and 0 looking similar or even that the last syllable of zeer-oh is just "oh" but the real reason why it's so commonly to pronounce 0 as "oh" really is as simple as the fact that it's just shorter than enunciating zero in its entirety. Language often tends towards slang that shortens down commonly used words or phrases, it's ubiquitous.

[abrahamlincoln]

I have always wondered whether why people said O instead of zero, including myself. Thank you, Mr. Beat.

[daniel-panek]

I say zero for zip codes and phone numbers and strings of numbers aside from the year. 007 is called "double oh seven" so I use that. Definitely much less common to say zero instead of "oh".

[hpsauce]

I'm originally from the UK but for a while attended school in New York in the US and I still have vivid memories of other kids and even teachers not understanding me when I pronounced numbers. Saying things like "Naught-point-Naught-Seven" just returned blank, perplexed stares.

[sebastiangudino]

For those curious, in Spanish we do call it "zero zero seven"

[KeithGrant]

This video raises the question: why do we say begs the question (i.e. the logical fallacy) when we actually mean “raises the question”

[DerWaidmann_]

I've always wondered why we say "Ought" when we pronounce 0s when referring to ammunition, such as 30-06 or 00 Buckshot

[dvdly]

As to modern usage, whereby people switch between "zero" and "O", I'd say it is a natural occurrence similar to how we pronounce the article "the" as either "thee" or "thuh" depending on what follows it. Wherever the corresponding "a" is used, as before any consonant sound (a book), we naturally say "thuh book" (which rhymes), whereas before vowel sounds, as in "an egg", we naturally use "thee egg", because it flows from the one syllable to the next more easily.

[ur_local_nintendo_ds]

"English didn't have a word for zero much later than other countries-"
India: the first "other country" is me

[bobbuilder]

It's one of my pet peeves, along with people who use the phrase "Begs the question" incorrectly. I say zero, much to the annoyance of others.