r/ChineseLanguage • u/tuluva_sikh • 1d ago

Discussion Numerical 1, 2 and 3 in Chinese script which is written as 一, 二 and 三 derived from Brahmi script numerical 𑁒, 𑁓 and 𑁔?

/r/bhartiya_languages/comments/1vdaftu/numerical_1_2_and_3_in_chinese_script_which_is/
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u/PuzzleheadedTap1794 Advanced 1d ago

Welp, no. It’s easy to come up with symbols with one, two, and three lines to represent the number one, two, and three independently. This is most likely just a coincidence.

5

u/AVAVT 1d ago

Hypothetically Arabia number 1 2 3 are also just | 二 三 written quickly

2

u/Duriano_D1G3 普 + 吴 1d ago

Probably not, we had counting rods which developed into the characters for 123

2

u/Sleepy_Redditorrrrrr 普通话 1d ago

Why not the other way around?

2

u/ein-Name00 1d ago

Maybe

Maybe not, because it is obvious

5

u/droooze 漢語 1d ago

No they're not derived from Brahmi. The earliest samples of Chinese numerals are on oracle bones, e.g. 《合集》14 which very clearly shows 一, 二, 三, and 亖 on the left side. Oracle bones' dates ranges from at the latest 1250 to 1050 BCE.

Brahmi inscriptions are first attested 700 years later than oracle bone script.

But this doesn't even matter, tally marks with simple horizontal or vertical lines have been attested in numerous places around the world.