Arabic numerals

The usual way of representing numbers in English (and all countries using the same alphabet) is by the digits 1, 2, 3 etc. - from 0 to 9. These are widely known as Arabic numerals, except in Arabic-speaking countries. There the numbers under discussion are called Hindi (or Indian) numerals. In written Arabic, the symbols used are rather modified, although when writing numbers, Arabic uses the same decimal system in which the position of the symbols gives them meaning: the same symbol, used with zeros to indicate the position, stands for one, or ten, or one hundred or one thousand - million - etc: 1, 10, 100, 1,000, 1,000,000 and so on. The numbers used in Arabic are

٠ (for 0); ١ (for 1); ٢ (2); ٣ (3); ٤ (4); ٥ (5); ٦ (6); ٧ (7); ٨ (8); and ٩ (9). An interesting point about the 'universal language' of mathematics is that although Arabic is written from right to left (the other direction from all European languages), its decimal system is written in exactly the same direction as western numerals - with the highest (most important) digit on the left. This makes addition sums more logical to the writer in Arabic, as the first digit to be added up is the smallest, and first written. Europeans write their numbers left to right, and they are advised to add them up by digits from right to left; whereas Arabs both write them and add them up in the same order,

Our usual western numerals are called 'Arabic' because they were adopted from the Arabs - those living in Spain and North Africa from the eighth century CE. The ones currently known to Arabs as Hindi numerals are perhaps better called 'East Arabic', and simply show a slightly different evolution over time from the basic tradition of these numerals, which were invented in India in the Brahmi culture in the Buddhist tradition. If you follow the advice to call the symbols used in writing Arabic East Arabic numerals, you might be equally well-advised to call the ones currently used in the 'Roman alphabet' West Arabic numerals.

See also Roman numerals. This is about the system that calls 2007 MMVII.