fragmentary, fall, zero

零 is composed of 雨 (rain) and 令 (command). 令 originally means instructions or commands issued by a superior to a subordinate, extended to imply something that cannot be disobeyed. The forces of nature and the way of heaven are irresistible and cannot be defied, so 令 here can be understood as referring to natural essence or inherent nature. The inherent nature of rain is to fall in scattered, fragmented drops, therefore 零 is used to express this idea of scattering, falling apart, or becoming negligible in amount; it is also used to represent the number zero.