9 in Bamum
× 1
Kovuu is the modern digit nine.
LIVING · BASE 10
Bamum
A-ka-u-ku
Ten signs shared with the Bamum syllabary, used here as decimal digits.
Convert numbers- Place
- Western Cameroon
- Period / variant
- Modern Phase G forms
EXAMPLES
42 · Base 10
Four tens and two units, derived from the documented decimal mapping.
Worked example
Write 42 in Bamum
Read from left to right. The rightmost place counts ones; each place to its left is worth 10 times as much.
42 ÷ 10 = 4, remainder 2. Start with 4 in the 10s place, then write the remainder in the lower places.
- × 10
This sign is the digit 4. In the 10s place, it contributes 4 × 10 = 40.
- × 1
This sign is the digit 2. At the ones place, it contributes 2.
Check
4 × 10 + 2 = 42
Sources and notation notes
Unicode: Bamum script and decimal convention · Bamum numeral character identities
Meet the symbols
Each tile shows one digit and its value. These are the 10 digits used by this display. Combine them using the rules below.
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
How the symbols fit together
In the modern convention shown here, Bamum signs work as decimal digits. Read their positions like familiar groups of ten.
- Each sign represents a digit from zero to nine. Read the number from left to right.
- For 42, the left digit 4 sits in the tens position. It means four tens, or 40.
- The right digit 2 sits in the ones position. Add 40 + 2 = 42.
- For 10, use the digit 1 followed by the zero digit. The zero keeps the empty ones position visible. These examples use the modern decimal convention.
10 in Bamum
× 10× 1
Modern decimal rendering: one ten and zero units.
42 in Bamum
× 10× 1
Four tens and two units, derived from the documented decimal mapping.
This is the modern decimal convention. Koghom, used here for zero, formerly meant ten. It should not be read as zero when interpreting an earlier Bamum document.
History
King Ibrahim Njoya developed Bamum writing through a succession of forms beginning in the late nineteenth century. This collection uses the final, A-ka-u-ku repertoire. Its last ten letters also serve as numerals.
How to read it
In the modern convention shown here, Bamum signs work as decimal digits. Read their positions like familiar groups of ten.
- Each sign represents a digit from zero to nine. Read the number from left to right.
- For 42, the left digit 4 sits in the tens position. It means four tens, or 40.
- The right digit 2 sits in the ones position. Add 40 + 2 = 42.
- For 10, use the digit 1 followed by the zero digit. The zero keeps the empty ones position visible. These examples use the modern decimal convention.
Limits
This is the modern decimal convention. Koghom, used here for zero, formerly meant ten. It should not be read as zero when interpreting an earlier Bamum document.
Compare systems