Numerals

Egyptian numbers are among the easiest things to read in hieroglyphs, because they work by simple addition. You need only seven signs and the idea of sign kinds from Three Kinds of Signs.

Key idea

Each power of ten has its own sign, repeated as often as needed: the stroke 𓏤 1, the hobble 𓎆 10, the coil of rope 𓍢 100, the lotus 𓆼 1,000, the finger 𓂭 10,000, the tadpole 𓆐 100,000 and the god Heh 𓁨 1,000,000. Add them up.

The numeral signs (Gardiner, Lesson XX).
Sign	Code	What it shows	Value
𓏤	Z1	a single stroke	1
𓎆	V20	a hobble for cattle	10
𓍢	V1	a coil of rope	100
𓆼	M12	a lotus plant	1,000
𓂭	D50	a finger	10,000
𓆐	I8	a tadpole	100,000
𓁨	C11	the god Heh, arms raised	1,000,000

1,234: one lotus, two coils, three hobbles and four strokes.

Write a number by its parts, the largest first in reading order. 1,234 is one lotus (1,000), two coils (200), three hobbles (30) and four strokes (4). Repeated signs are arranged in neat stacks of two to four, so that a number fits the square groups of Groups and Quadrats. There is no sign for zero, and none is needed: if a number has no tens, the hobbles are simply left out.

2,047: two lotuses, four hobbles, seven strokes. No hundreds are written.

Big numbers

Big numbers appear in temple inventories, in records of booty and in the offering formula’s “thousand of bread, thousand of beer”. The Heh sign, a kneeling god holding up his arms, also stands for the word ḥḥ “millions”, and so for “eternity”: wishes for “millions of years” are common on royal monuments.

Why it works

Why is this system easy to read but slow to write? It is additive, like Roman numerals without subtraction: each sign has one value, wherever it stands. Reading means counting signs. But a number like 999 needs 27 signs. Scribes writing accounts in hieratic used quicker forms, with single signs for 2, 3, 20, 30 and so on.

Common mistake

Reading numerals by position, like our digits, so that two coils followed by three strokes become “23”. Egyptian numerals simply add up: two coils are 200, three strokes 3, total 203. Check: multiply each kind of sign by its value and add.

Worked example: Read it

What number is 𓍢𓍢𓎆𓏤𓏤𓏤?

Two coils: 200.
One hobble: 10.
Three strokes: 3.
Add: 213.

Answer: 213

Worked example: Write it

How many signs, and which, write 3,021?

3 lotuses (3,000).
No coils (no hundreds).
2 hobbles (20) and 1 stroke (1).

Answer: 3 lotuses, 2 hobbles, 1 stroke: 6 signs

Worked example: A big one

What number is one tadpole and two fingers?

Tadpole: 100,000.
Two fingers: 20,000.

Answer: 120,000

Numerals

Big numbers

Practice

Builds on

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Sources and further reading