thumb|right|A milestone which uses both Tamil and Indo-Arabic Numerals (Tanjore Palace Museum).
This article is about the number words of the Tamil language, as well as the dedicated symbols for them used in the Tamil script.
Basic numbering
Zero
Old Tamil possesses a special numerical character for zero (see Old Tamil numerals below) and it is read as  (literally, no/nothing).
But yet Modern Tamil renounces the use of its native character and uses the Indian symbol '0' for Shunya meaning nothingness in Indic thought.
Modern Tamil words for zero include  () or  ().
Cardinal numbers ({{lang|ta|முதல் எண்கள்}})
Transcribing other numbers
Reproductive and attributive prefixes
Tamil has a numeric prefix for each number from 1 to 9, which can be added to the words for the powers of ten (ten, hundred, thousand, etc.) to form multiples of them.
For instance, the word for fifty,  () is a combination of  (, the prefix for five) and  (, which is ten).
The prefix for nine changes with respect to the succeeding base 10.
+ the unvoiced consonant of the succeeding base 10 forms the prefix for nine.
For instance, 90 is  +  ( being the unvoiced version of ), hence, ).
These are typically void in the Tamil language except for some Hindu references; for example,  (the eight Lakshmis).
Even in religious contexts, the Tamil language is usually more preferred for its more poetic nature and relatively low incidence of consonant clusters.
Specific characters
Unlike other Indian writing systems, Tamil has distinct digits for 10, 100, and 1000.
It also has distinct characters for other number-based aspects of day-to-day life.
Powers of ten ({{lang|ta|பதின்பெருக்கம்}})
There are two numeral systems that can be used in the Tamil language: the Tamil system which is as followsSelvakumar, V. (2016).
History of Numbers and Fractions and Arithmetic Calculations in the Tamil Region: Some Observations.
HuSS: International Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(1), 27-35.
https://doi.org/10.15613/HIJRH/2016/V3I1/111730
The following are the traditional numbers of the Ancient Tamil Country, .
Original Tamil system
Current Tamil system
Partitive numerals ({{lang|ta|பகுத்தல்}})
Fractions ({{lang|ta|பின்னம்}})
Proposals to encode Tamil fractions and symbols to Unicode were submitted.Sharma, Shriramana.
(2012).
Proposal to encode Tamil fractions and symbols.
Retrieved 12 March 2019 from https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2012/12231-tamil-fractions-symbols-proposal.pdfGovernment of Tamil Nadu.
(2017).
Finalized proposal to encode Tamil fractions and symbols.
Retrieved 12 March 2019 from http://unicode.org/wg2/docs/n4822-tamil-frac.pdf As of version 12.0, Tamil characters used for fractional values in traditional accounting practices were added to the Unicode Standard.
Transcribing fractions ({{lang|ta|பின்னம் எழுத்தல்}})
You can transcribe any fraction, by affixing - (-il) after the denominator followed by the numerator.
For instance, 1/41 can be said as  ().
The suffixing of the - () requires you to change the last consonant of the number to its  () form.
For example,  +  ( + ) becomes  (); note the  () has been omitted.
Common fractions () have names already allocated to them, hence, these names are often used rather than the above method.
Other fractions include:
Aṇu was considered as the lowest fraction by ancient Tamils as size of smallest physical object (similar to an atom).
Later, this term went to Sanskrit to refer directly to atoms.
Decimals ({{lang|ta|பதின்மம்}})
Decimal point is called  () in Tamil.
For example, 1.1 would be read as  ().in Sri Lankan Tamil Thasam தசம் Percentage ({{lang|ta|விழுக்காடு}})
Percentage is known as  () in Tamil or  ().
These words are simply added after a number to form percentages.
For instance, four percent is  () or  ().
Percentage symbol (%) is also recognised and used.
Ordinal numbers ({{lang|ta|வரிசை எண்கள்}})
Ordinal numbers are formed by adding the suffix - () after the number, except for 'First'.
Collective numerals ({{lang|ta|கூட்டெண்கள்}})
As always, when blending two words into one,  an unvoiced form of the consonant as the one that the second starts with,  is placed in between to blend.
Traditional Tamil counting song
This song is a list of each number with a concept its primarily associated with.
Influence
As the ancient classical language of the Dravidian languages, Tamil numerals influenced and shaped the numerals of the others in the family.
The following table compares the main Dravidian languages.
Also, Tamil through the Pallava script which itself through the Kawi script, Khmer script and other South-east Asian scripts has shaped the numeral grapheme of most South-east Asian languages.
History
Before the Government of India unveiled  as the new rupee symbol, people in Tamil Nadu used the Tamil letter  as the symbol.
This symbol continues to be used occasionally as rupee symbol by Indian Tamils.
It is also used by Tamils in Sri Lanka
is also known as the  (), a symbol that most Tamil Hindus will start off any auspicious document with.
It is written to invoke the god , known otherwise as Ganesha, who is the remover of obstacles.
See also
Tamil script
Tamil units of measurement
References
