Tamil numerals

Basic numbering

Zero

Old Tamil possesses a special numerical character for zero (see Old Tamil numerals below) and it is read as andru (literally, no/nothing). But yet Modern Tamil renounces the use of its native character and uses Arabic, 0. Modern Tamil words for zero include சுழியம் (suzhiyam) or பூஜ்ஜியம் (poojjiyam).

Cardinal numbers (முதல் எண்கள்)
Modern
Tamil script		Tamil numeralTamil word and pronunciation
௦0சுழியம் (sūḻiyam); Old Tamil பாழ் (pāḻ)[1]
௧1ஒன்று (oṉṟu)
௨2இரண்டு (iraṇdu)
௩3மூன்று (mūṉṟu)
௪4நான்கு (nāṉku)
௫5ஐந்து (ainthu)
௬6ஆறு (āru)
௭7ஏழு (ēzhu)
௮8எட்டு (eṭṭu)
௯9ஒன்பது (oṉpathu)
௰10பத்து (patthu)

Transcribing other numbers

Reproductive and attributive prefixes

Tamil has a numeric prefix for each number from 1 to 9, which can be added to the words for the powers of ten (ten, hundred, thousand, etc.) to form multiples of them. For instance, the word for fifty, ஐம்பது (aimpathu) is a combination of ஐ (ai, the prefix for five) and பத்து (paththu, which is ten). The prefix for nine changes with respect to the succeeding base 10. தொ+ the unvoiced consonant of the succeeding base 10 forms the prefix for nine. For instance, 90 is தொ+ண் ('ண்' being the unvoiced version of 'ணூ'), hence, தொண்ணூறு).

Tamil scriptTamil prefixTransliteration
௧ஓர்ōr
௨ஈர்īr
௩மூmū
௪நான்nāṉ
௫ஐai
௬ஆறுāṟ(u)
௭ஏழ்ēḻ(u)
௮எண்eņ
௯தொன்ton

These are typically void in the Tamil language except for some Hindu and Christian religious references, example 'அட்ட இலட்சுமிகள்' (the eight Lakshmis) in a Hindu context, or 'ஏக பாலன்' (One son) in a Christian context. Even in religious contexts Tamil language is usually more preferred for its more poetic nature and relatively low incidence of consonant clusters.

Specific characters

Unlike other Indian writing systems, Tamil has distinct digits for 10, 100, and 1000. It also has distinct characters for other number-based aspects of day-to-day life.

tenhundredthousand
௰௱௲
daymonthyeardebitcreditas aboverupeenumeral
௳௴௵௶௷௸௹௺

Powers of ten (பதின்பெருக்கம்)

There are two numeral systems that can be used in the Tamil language: the Tamil system which is as follows[2]

The following are the traditional numbers of the Ancient Tamil Country, Tamizhakam.

Original-Tamil-System
Rank 101 102 103 104 105 106 109 1012 1015 1018 1020 1021
Words பத்து நூறு ஆயிரம் பத்தாயிரம் நூறாயிரம் மெய்யிரம் தொள்ளுண் ஈகியம் நெளை இளஞ்சி வெள்ளம் ஆம்பல்
Character ௰ ௱ ௲ ௰௲ ௱௲ ௲௲ ௲௲௲ ௲௲௲௲ ௲௲௲௲௲ ௲௲௲௲௲௲ ௱௲௲௲௲௲௲ ௲௲௲௲௲௲௲
Reading pathu nūru āyiram pattāyiram nūraiyiram meiyyiram tollun īkiyam neļai iļañci veļļam āmpal

Current-Tamil-System
Rank 105 106 107 108 109 1011 1013 1015 1017 1019 1021 1025
Words இலட்சம் பத்து இலட்சம் கோடி பத்து கோடி அற்புதம் நிகர்ப்புதம் கர்வம் சங்கம் அர்த்தம் பூரியம் முக்கொடி மாயுகம்
Character ௱௲ ௲௲ ௰௲௲ ௱௲௲ ௱௲௲ ௲௲௲ ௲௲௲௲ ௲௲௲௲௲ ௲௲௲௲௲௲ ௱௲௲௲௲௲௲ ௲௲௲௲௲௲௲ ௰௲௲௲௲௲௲௲
Reading lațcham pathu lațcham kōdi pathu kōdi aṟputam nikarputam karvam saṅkam arttam pūriyam mukkoți māyukam

Partitive numerals (பகுத்தல்)

Fractions (பின்னம்)

Proposals to encode Tamil fractions and symbols to Unicode were submitted.[3][4] As of version 12.0, Tamil characters used for fractional values in traditional accounting practices were added to the Unicode Standard.

Transcribing fractions (பின்னம் எழுத்தல்)

You can transcribe any fraction, by affixing -இல் (-il) after the denominator followed by the numerator. For instance, 1/41 can be said as நாற்பத்து ஒன்றில் ஒன்று (naatpaththu ondr-il ondru).

The suffixing of the -இல் (-il) requires you to change the last consonant of the number to its இ (i) form. For example, மூன்று+இல் (moondru+il) becomes மூன்றில் (moondr-il); note the உ (u) has been omitted.

Common fractions (பொது பின்னங்கள்) have names already allocated to them, hence, these names are often used rather than the above method.

Value ​1⁄4 ​1⁄2 ​3⁄4 ​1⁄5 ​1⁄8 ​1⁄10 ​1⁄16 ​1⁄20 ​1⁄40 ​1⁄80 ​1⁄160
Symbol
Name கால் அரை முக்கால் நாலுமா அரைக்கால் இருமா மாகாணி, வீசம் ஒருமா அரைமா காணி அரைக்காணி
Transliteration kāl arai mukkāl nālumā araikkāl irumā mākāni, vīsam orumā araimā kāni araikkāni

Other fractions include:

ValueNameTransliteration
1ஒன்றுonṛu
​3⁄4 = 0.75முக்கால்mukkāl
​1⁄2 = 0.5அரைarai
​1⁄4 = 0.25கால்kāl
​1⁄5 = 0.2நாலுமாnālumā
​3⁄16 = 0.1875மும்மாகாணிmummākāni
​3⁄20 = 0.15மும்மாmummā
​1⁄8 = 0.125அரைக்கால்araikkāl
​1⁄10 = 0.1இருமாirumā
​1⁄16 = 0.0625மாகாணி (வீசம்)mākāṇi (vīsam)
​1⁄20 = 0.05ஒருமாorumā
​3⁄64 = 0.046875முக்கால்வீசம்mukkāl vīsam
​3⁄80 = 0.0375முக்காணிmukkāṇi
​1⁄32 = 0.03125அரைவீசம்araivīsam
​1⁄40 = 0.025அரைமாaraimā
​1⁄64 = 0.015625கால் வீசம்kāl vīsam
​1⁄80 = 0.0125காணிkāṇi
​3⁄320 = 0.009375அரைக்காணி முந்திரிaraikkāṇi munthiri
​1⁄160 = 0.00625அரைக்காணிaraikkāṇi
​1⁄320 = 0.003125முந்திரிmunthiri
​3⁄1280 = 0.00234375கீழ் முக்கால்kīl mukkal
​1⁄640 = 0.0015625கீழரைkīlarai
​1⁄1280 = 7.8125×10−4கீழ் கால்kīl kāl
​1⁄1600 = 0.000625கீழ் நாலுமாkīl nalumā
​3⁄5120 ≈ 5.85938×10−4கீழ் மூன்று வீசம்kīl mūndru vīsam
​3⁄6400 = 4.6875×10−4கீழ் மும்மாkīl mummā
​1⁄2500 = 0.0004கீழ் அரைக்கால்kīl araikkāl
​1⁄3200 = 3.12500×10−4கீழ் இருமாkīl irumā
​1⁄5120 ≈ 1.95313×10−4கீழ் வீசம்kīl vīsam
​1⁄6400 = 1.56250×10−4கீழொருமாkīlorumā
​1⁄102400 ≈ 9.76563×10−6கீழ்முந்திரிkīl̠ munthiri
​1⁄2150400 ≈ 4.65030×10−7இம்மிimmi
​1⁄23654400 ≈ 4.22754×10−8மும்மிmummi
​1⁄165580800 ≈ 6.03935×10−9அணுaṇu
​1⁄1490227200 ≈ 6.71039×10−10குணம்kuṇam
​1⁄7451136000 ≈ 1.34208×10−10பந்தம்pantham
​1⁄44706816000 ≈ 2.23680×10−11பாகம்pāgam
​1⁄312947712000 ≈ 3.19542×10−12விந்தம்vintham
​1⁄5320111104000 ≈ 1.87966×10−13நாகவிந்தம்nāgavintham
​1⁄74481555456000 ≈ 1.34261×10−14சிந்தைsinthai
​1⁄1489631109120000 ≈ 6.71307×10−16கதிர்முனைkathirmunai
​1⁄59585244364800000 ≈ 1.67827×10−17குரல்வளைப்படிkuralvaḷaippidi
​1⁄3575114661888000000 ≈ 2.79711×10−19வெள்ளம்veḷḷam
​1⁄357511466188800000000 ≈ 2.79711×10−21நுண்மணல்nuṇṇmaṇal
​1⁄2323824530227200000000 ≈ 4.30325×10−22தேர்த்துகள்thērtthugal

^ Aṇu was considered as the lowest fraction by ancient Tamils as size of smallest physical object (similar to an atom). Later, this term went to Sanskrit to refer directly to atoms.

Decimals (பதின்மம்)

Decimal point is called புள்ளி (pulli) in Tamil. For example, 1.1 would be read as ஒன்று புள்ளி ஒன்று (ondru pulli ondru).

Percentage (விழுக்காடு)

Percentage is known as விழுக்காடு (vil̠ukkādu) in Tamil or சதவீதம் (sathavītham). These words are simply added after a number to form percentages. For instance, four percent is நான்கு சதவீதம் (nāngu sathavītham) or நான்கு விழுக்காடு (nāngu vil̠ukkādu). Percentage symbol (%) is also recognised and used.

Ordinal numbers (வரிசை எண்கள்)

Ordinal numbers are formed by adding the suffix -ஆம் (ām) after the number, except for 'First'.

Ordinal Tamil Transliteration
Firstமுதல்mudhal
Secondஇரண்டாம்irandām
Thirdமூன்றாம்mūnṟām
Fourthநான்காம்nānkām
101stநூற்று ஒன்றாம்nūṟṟu onṟām

Collective numerals (கூட்டெண்கள்)
EnglishTamilTransliteration
Singleஒற்றைoṟṟai
Pairஇரட்டைiraṭṭai
Reproductives௺+ வினைச்சொல்Numeric prefix + noun*
Single (pillar), double (pillar)...ஒருக்(கால்), இருக்(கால்)-orukkāl, irukkāl*
Distributives௺+ முறைNumeric prefix + muṟai
Once, twice...ஒருமுறை, இருமுறைorumuṟai, irumuṟai
  • As always, when blending two words into one, an unvoiced form of the consonant as the one that the second starts with, is placed in between to blend.

Traditional Tamil counting song

This song is a list of each number with a concept its primarily associated with.

TamilTransliterationEnglish
ஒரு குலம்ōrkulamOne race
ஈரினம்īrinamTwo sexes-ஆண் (aaN-Male), பெண்(peN-Female)
முத்தமிழ்muttamizhThree sections of Tamil-இயல் (iyal-Literature), இசை (isai-Music) and நாடகம் (Nātakam-Drama)
நான்மறைNānmaraiFour scriptures
ஐம்புலன்aimbulanFive senses
அறுசுவைArusuvaiSix tastes (inippu, kaarppu, kasappu, pulippu, uvarppu, thuvarppu)
ஏழிசைēzhicaiSeven musical notes (kural, thuththam, kaikkiLai, uzhai, iLi, viLari, thAram)
எண்பக்கம்EṇpakkamEight directions (kizhaku merku vadaku therku then-merku then-kizhaku vada-merku vada-kizhaku)
நவமணிகள்NavamaṇigaLNine gems (வைரம் மரகதம் நீலம் கோமேதகம் பவளம் மாணிக்கம் முத்து புட்பராகம் வைடூரியம்)
தொன்மெய்ப்பாடுTonmeippāṭuAlso known as NAVARASAM as per the Dance expressions. Those are uvakai – Joyful, nakai – Humour, azhukai - Cries, vekuli – Innocent, perumitam – Proud, achcham – Fear, ilivaral – Disgust, marutkai – Wonder, amaiti - Tranquility[5]

Influence

As the ancient classical language of the Dravidian languages, Tamil numerals influenced and shaped the numerals of the others in the family. The following table compares the main Dravidian languages.

Number Tamil Kannada Malayalam Tulu Telugu Kolami Kurukh Brahui Proto-Dravidian
1 onru ondu onnu onji okaṭi okkod oṇṭa asiṭ *oru(1)
2 iraṇṭu eraḍu raṇṭu raḍḍ renḍu irāṭ indiŋ irāṭ *iru(2)
3 mūnru mūru mūnnu mūji mūḍu mūndiŋ mūnd musiṭ *muC
4 nālu, nānku nālku nālu nāl nālugu nāliŋ nākh čār (II) *nān
5 ainthu, añju aidu añcu ayN ayidu ayd 3 pancē (II) panč (II) *cayN
6 āru āru āru āji āru ār 3 soyyē (II) šaš (II) *caru
7 ēlu ēlu ēlu yēl ēḍu ēḍ 3 sattē (II) haft (II) *ēlu
8 yeṭṭu eṇṭu eṭṭu enma enimidi enumadī 3 aṭṭhē (II) hašt (II) *eṭṭu
9 onpatthu ombattu onpatu ormba tommidi tomdī 3 naiṃyē (II) nōh (II) *toḷ
10 paththu hattu pattu patt padi padī 3 dassē (II) dah (II) *pat(tu)

Also, Tamil through the Pallava script which itself through the Kawi script, Khmer script and other South-east Asian scripts has shaped the numeral grapheme of most South-east Asian languages.

History

Before the Government of India unveiled ₹ as the new rupee symbol, people in Tamil Nadu used the Tamil letter ௹ as the symbol. This symbol continues to be used occasionally as rupee symbol by Indian Tamils. It is also used by Tamils in Sri Lanka

௳ is also known as the Pillaiyar Suzhi; lit. 'Curl of Pillaiyar' is a symbol that most Tamil Hindus will start off any auspicious document with; it is written to invoke the God Pillaiyar, known otherwise as Ganesha, who is the remover of obstacles.

Old Tamil numerals

The Tamil numbers used the following symbols.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9

See also

References
  1. N. Subrahmanian (1996). Śaṅgam polity: the administration and social life of the Śaṅgam Tamils (3 ed.). Ennes Publications. pp. 235, 416. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  2. Selvakumar, V. (2016). History of Numbers and Fractions and Arithmetic Calculations in the Tamil Region: Some Observations. HuSS: International Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(1), 27-35. https://doi.org/10.15613/HIJRH/2016/V3I1/111730
  3. Sharma, Shriramana. (2012). Proposal to encode Tamil fractions and symbols. Retrieved 12 March 2019 from https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12231-tamil-fractions-symbols-proposal.pdf
  4. Government of Tamil Nadu. (2017). Finalized proposal to encode Tamil fractions and symbols. Retrieved 12 March 2019 from http://unicode.org/wg2/docs/n4822-tamil-frac.pdf
  5. Literary theories in Tamil: with special reference to Tolka:ppiyam. Pondicherry Institute of Linguistics and Culture. 1997. p. 135.
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