Angkorian Numbers
It is generally assumed that the Angkorian and pre-Angkorian numbers also represented a dual base (quinquavigesimal) system, with both base 5 and base 20 in use. Unlike modern Khmer, the decimal system was highly limited, with both the numbers for ten and one hundred being borrowed from the Chinese and Sanskrit languages respectively. Angkorian Khmer also used Sanskrit numbers for recording dates, sometimes mixing them with Khmer originals, a practice which has persisted until the last century.
The numbers for twenty, forty, and four hundred may be followed by multiplying numbers, with additional digits added on at the end, so that 27 is constructed as twenty-one-seven, or 20×1+7.
| Value | Khmer | Orthography | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ១ | mvay | |
| 2 | ២ | vyar | |
| 3 | ៣ | pi | |
| 4 | ៤ | pvan | |
| 5 | ៥ | pram | (7 : pramvyar or pramvyal) |
| 10 | ១០ | tap | Old Chinese *di̯əp. |
| 20 | ២០ | bhai | |
| 40 | ៤០ | plon | |
| 80 | ៨០ | bhai pvan | Literally "four twenty" |
| 100 | ១០០ | çata | Sanskrit (100, sata). |
| 400 | ៤០០ | slik |
Read more about this topic: Khmer Numbers
Famous quotes containing the word numbers:
“The forward Youth that would appear
Must now forsake his Muses dear,
Nor in the Shadows sing
His Numbers languishing.”
—Andrew Marvell (16211678)