Tibetan Half-Four Digit

In its ordinary fractional reading, it means 3.5.

This Tibetan half-digit is read as four minus one-half, or 3.5; it appears at the end of a multi-digit Tibetan numeral, after the whole-number digits.

The Tibetan script took shape in the sixth century using Indic models for Buddhist translation; the half-digit series itself is poorly attested, so that history does not date ༭.

Someone sent me ༭ alone—what does it mean?

Ask for the preceding digits and the context.

By itself, ༭ suggests the half-four value, but preceding digits establish the full amount. Messages on a Unicode standards list in 1999 and 2000 link the series to astrology and market prices; a 2000 account specifically cites ༪ in plans showing proportions of Buddhas, temples, and mandalas.

The same 2000 account says some numerals crossed out in astrological calculations were not treated as fractions. This is a report about one tradition, not the ordinary half-number rule.