Tibetan Digit Half Two

It adds one and a half at the end of a Tibetan number. The Tibetan half digit 2 is read as two minus 0.5, so its value is 1.5 when it completes a longer numeral. In ༤༫, ༤ gives 40 and final ༫ adds 1.5, making 41.5. Its stroke belongs to this half-number form, not to a free-standing fraction bar.

Historical examples show fractional notation in Tibetan money. A coin dated 1918–1925 spells out a value of 7½ skar, a currency denomination; a 1933 Tibetan postage stamp shows a related slashed eight for 7½ skar. These examples place fractional values in Tibetan use, but do not establish that either artifact used this exact half-two character.

An 18th-century pattern book made in Nepal for use in Tibet gives precise measurements for Buddha and bodhisattva figures, revered figures in Buddhism. It documents Tibetan numerals in iconometry—the measured proportions used to draw Buddhist figures—but does not show that this exact half-number appears in the book.

Was ༫ used in Tibetan astrology?

The report discusses crossed numerals, not this exact form. A 2000 Unicode discussion reports ༪ used as a half-unit in plans for Buddhas, temples and mandalas. It separately describes crossed numerals in Tibetan astronomical or astrological calculations that did not represent fractions. The discussion marks both accounts uncertain, so they do not establish a general use for ༫.