nullen
to zero
To set a measuring instrument, counter, or stored value to zero.
EXAMPLE
Vor der Messung muss die Waage genullt werden.
The scale must be zeroed before the measurement.
nullen
to zero
nullen – nullte – hat genullt
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Meanings
nullen
to have a milestone birthday
Colloquial: to have a milestone birthday at which the number of years one has lived ends in zero.
EXAMPLE
Meine Schwester nullt dieses Jahr: Sie wird vierzig.
My sister has a milestone birthday this year: she’ll be forty.
nullen
to connect to neutral
In electrical engineering: to connect the conductive casing parts of an electrical device to the designated neutral conductor in order to protect against dangerous touch voltage.
EXAMPLE
Bei dieser alten Installation wurden die Metallgehäuse der Geräte genullt.
In this old installation, the metal casings of the appliances were connected to neutral.
nullen
to fill with zeros
To provide with a zero or zeros. In data processing, this particularly means overwriting areas of memory with zeros.
EXAMPLE
Das Programm nullt den gesamten Speicherbereich, bevor neue Daten hineingeschrieben werden.
The program fills the entire memory area with zeros before new data is written to it.
Forms
Forms adapted from the German Wiktionary entry nullen, by Wiktionary contributors, licence CC BY-SA 4.0.
Present
| ich | nulle |
|---|---|
| du | nullst |
| er/sie/es | nullt |
| wir | nullen |
| ihr | nullt |
| sie | nullen |
Simple past
| ich | nullte |
|---|---|
| du | nulltest |
| er/sie/es | nullte |
| wir | nullten |
| ihr | nulltet |
| sie | nullten |
Perfect
with haben
| ich | habe genullt |
|---|---|
| du | hast genullt |
| er/sie/es | hat genullt |
| wir | haben genullt |
| ihr | habt genullt |
| sie | haben genullt |
Commands
| du | nulle! null! |
|---|---|
| ihr | nullt! |
| Sie | nullen Sie! |
Past perfect
| ich | hatte genullt |
|---|---|
| du | hattest genullt |
| er/sie/es | hatte genullt |
| wir | hatten genullt |
| ihr | hattet genullt |
| sie | hatten genullt |
Future
| ich | werde nullen |
|---|---|
| du | wirst nullen |
| er/sie/es | wird nullen |
| wir | werden nullen |
| ihr | werdet nullen |
| sie | werden nullen |
Subjunctive I
| ich | nulle |
|---|---|
| du | nullest |
| er/sie/es | nulle |
| wir | nullen |
| ihr | nullet |
| sie | nullen |
Used for reported speech.
Subjunctive II
| ich | nullte |
|---|---|
| du | nulltest |
| er/sie/es | nullte |
| wir | nullten |
| ihr | nulltet |
| sie | nullten |
Used for wishes and “would”.
Other forms
| infinitive | nullen |
|---|---|
| with zu | zu nullen |
| present participle | nullend |
| past participle | genullt |
Usage tips
Word formation
„Nullen“ (to zero) is formed from the noun „Null“ (zero) and the verb ending „-en“. In its technical meanings, it usually describes bringing something to the value zero or providing it with zeros; in colloquial usage, however, it can refer to someone’s age.
EXAMPLE
Vor dem Start nullt die Technikerin das Messgerät.
Before starting, the technician zeros the measuring instrument.
Typical collocations
In this meaning, „nullen“ (to zero) is often used with measuring instruments and counters. Typical collocations are „eine Waage nullen“ (to zero a scale), „ein Messgerät nullen“ (to zero a measuring instrument), and „einen Zähler nullen“ (to zero a counter); this often happens before a measurement.
EXAMPLE
Bitte nullen Sie die Waage, bevor Sie die Zutaten abwiegen.
Please zero the scale before weighing the ingredients.
Colloquial usage
The meaning related to a milestone birthday is colloquial. The person whose birthday it is is the subject; the exact age is often clear from the context.
EXAMPLE
Er nullt im Herbst und plant deshalb eine große Feier.
He has a milestone birthday in the fall, so he’s planning a big celebration.
Technical usage
In electrical engineering, „nullen“ (to connect to neutral) refers to a specific protective measure in electrical installations. This meaning is found mainly in technical descriptions and in connection with older installations.
EXAMPLE
Der Elektriker erklärte, warum die Metallgehäuse früher genullt wurden.
The electrician explained why the metal casings used to be connected to neutral.
Data processing
In data processing, „nullen“ (to fill with zeros) often refers to overwriting an area of memory with zeros. The object is often a memory area, memory, or data.
EXAMPLE
Das Programm nullt den freien Speicher vor dem nächsten Durchlauf.
The program fills the free memory with zeros before the next run.
In real life
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