What 𒑎 means
It is the six sign in the angled AŠ-tenû numeral series. “Tenû” describes a wedge set at an oblique angle. This cuneiform numeral records a number, not a spoken sound; “six” identifies its place in the series, while the amount counted can depend on the metrological system around it.
The AŠ-tenû series appears in Early Dynastic measurement and accounting writing. Later examples include Ur III dates and subtractive notation. In late second- and first-millennium lexical texts, Akkadian-speaking scribes used tenû as a structural description. Reference works also call the family AŠ-tenû or DIŠ-tenû.
Use it when the angled form matters
Use 𒑎 when you mean this historical sign, not an everyday 6. It belongs in a transcription, reference, or discussion where the cuneiform form matters; use 6 when you mean the ordinary modern number.
Different cuneiform fonts draw historical styles with different wedge angles and proportions, so the character’s appearance can change while its encoded identity stays the same. The active font also needs cuneiform coverage to display it.
Specialist and historical: it signals cuneiform or ancient-number context rather than ordinary modern numeracy.
If the recipient needs an everyday six, 𒑎 is too specific to stand in for 6.
Part of the collection
Who writes 𒑎
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Don't confuse it with
2Related characters
1
Questions people ask
1Why does 𒑎 change shape in different fonts?
Different cuneiform fonts draw historical styles differently, so wedge angles and proportions can shift while the encoded character remains the same.
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How to type or find 𒑎
- Also called
- 6(AŠ@t) · 6(aš@t) · six AŠ-tenû
- Search it as
- cuneiform numeral · cuneiform six · six ash tenu · AŠ-tenû numeral · tenû number
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
𒑎\1244ECodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.