Devanagari numerals

The Devanagari numerals are the symbols used to write numbers in the Devanagari script, predominantly used for northern Indian languages. They are used to write decimal numbers, instead of the Western Arabic numerals.

Table

Modern Devanagari	Western Arabic	Words for the cardinal number
		Sanskrit (wordstem)	Hindi	Marathi	Nepali
०	0	śūnya (शून्य)	शून्य (śūny)	शून्य (śūnya)	शून्य (śūnya)
१	1	eka (एकः)	एक (ek)	एक (ek)	एक (ek)
२	2	dvi (द्वि)	दो (do)	दोन (don)	दुइ (dui)
३	3	tri (त्रिणि)	तीन (tīn)	तीन (tīn)	तिन (tīn)
४	4	catur (चत्वारी)	चार (cār)	चार (cār)	चारि (cāri)
५	5	pañca (पञ्च)	पाँच (pāñc)	पाच (pāch)	पाँच (pānch)
६	6	ṣaṭ (षट्)	छह (chah)	सहा (sahā)	छअ (chaā)
७	7	sapta (सप्त)	सात (sāt)	सात (sāt)	सात (sāt)
८	8	aṣṭa (अष्ट)	आठ (āṭh)	आठ (āṭh)	आठ (āṭha)
९	9	nava (नव)	नौ (nau)	नऊ (naū)	नअ (nā)

The word śūnya for zero was calqued into Arabic as صفر sifr, meaning 'nothing', which became the term "zero" in many European languages via Medieval Latin zephirum.

Variants

A comparison of Sanskrit and Eastern Arabic numerals

Devanagari digits shapes may vary depending on geographical area or epoch. Some of the variants are also seen in older Sanskrit literature.

१	Common	Nepali	1
५	"Bombay" Variant	"Calcutta" Variant	5
८	"Bombay" Variant	"Calcutta" Variant	8
९	Common	Nepali Variant	9

See also

• Indian numbering system

References

Notes

Sources

• Sanskrit Siddham (Bonji) Numbers Archived 2009-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
• Devanagari Numbers in Nepali language