An '03 model car.

[SpaceFlight]

For car models from the year 2003, we call them '03 models, pronounced ''oh three''. That sounds okay. And it sounds okay to go all the way to having '09 models of cars for the year 2009. But wouldn't it sound strange to talk about a '10 model car for the year 2010?

Imagine how strange the response to this question would be:

Question - ''How old is your car?"

Answer - ''I have a '10.''

Doesn't that sound a bit odd? Do you think we will be calling cars made in the year 2010 '' '10 models''? I don't think so. It sounds too strange.

[reflexsilver86]

Keep in mind, none of us were around the last time anyone would have had the opportunity to say "I have a '10" so it seems odder just because of that alone.

It's not incorrect, but it's unfamiliar to your ears, so it's just going to sound weird. Similarly, very few people right now say the year as "Twenty-oh-three" even though once we hit 2010 people will undoubtedly stop saying two thousand-whatever and start saying twenty-ten, twenty-twenty, etc.

To be honest with you, I don't know of many that even say "oh three" for the car model. Everyone says it out as 2003, or whatever the year is.

[JackFrost]

I always, and so everyone I spoke to, say "2003", not "03" for cars and for everything connected to the year.

[MikeL]

And is English unique in using the letter "O" for the numeral 0 [zero]?

[ZombiekE]

And is English unique in using the letter "O" for the numeral 0 [zero]?

The other day, an woman from the UK was giving me a phone number on the phone, and she said zero for "0" :O I had always thought the letter "O" was used in phone numbers.

[JackFrost]

And is English unique in using the letter "O" for the numeral 0 [zero]?

It depends on which version and dialect of English you're using. I usually say "oh" for zeros.

[MikeL]

And is English unique in using the letter "O" for the numeral 0 [zero]?

It depends on which version and dialect of English you're using. I usually say "oh" for zeros.

I would be interested to hear of any dialect in which it doesn't occur.
Just as I would be interested to know of any language other than English that uses it. To my knowledge it's not found in any other European language at least.

[Saaropean]

And is English unique in using the letter "O" for the numeral 0 [zero]?

I haven't yet encountered any other language that does so.

[Psi-Lord]

And is English unique in using the letter "O" for the numeral 0 [zero]?

I haven't yet encountered any other language that does so.

In Portuguese, as far as I can tell, we only say zero, too. However, in Brazil, we say meia instead of seis for 6 when giving e.g. phone numbers, because in most Brazilian dialects, 6 seis and 3 três sound too similar (e.g. [ˈsejs] and [ˈtɾejs]). Meia is short for meia dúzia ('half a dozen').

[jonathan]

And is English unique in using the letter "O" for the numeral 0 [zero]?

It depends on which version and dialect of English you're using. I usually say "oh" for zeros.

I do both. I noticed I tend to say "zero" when I want to be as clear as possible, and "o" when I'm just plain lazy.

[Alcadras]

i prefer to say "2003"