Why is "ゼロ" more popular than "れい"?


For the number zero, `[零]{れい}` is a Chinese origin word that is pretty much
familiarized in Japanese. Nevertheless, it seems more popular to use the
Western origin word `ゼロ`, which probably appeared later. Why is that? They are
both two morae, and I don't see any phonological reason.




ゼロ has almost 0% ambiguity (when spoken) and, only requiring katakana, is much
easier to write.




ゼロ has almost 0% ambiguity (when spoken) and, only requiring katakana, is much
easier to write.

