Interactive mathematics tool
Maya Number
Converter
Build and read numbers using the elegant Maya base-20 system of dots, bars, and a symbol for zero.
01 Enter a number
Decimal to Maya
Enter a whole number from 0 to 63,999,999.
01 Build a number
Maya to decimal
Adjust each base-20 place. The highest place is shown first.
Pure base-20 notation
Place values rise as 1, 20, 400, 8,000, and so on.
02 Read the result
Maya numeral
2 places(6 × 20¹) + (5 × 20⁰) = 125
Dot1 unit
Bar5 units
ShellZero
Dots, bars, and place. Three simple marks can express very large numbers.
How it works
Reading Maya numbers
Combine to nineteen
Dots represent ones and bars represent fives. Up to four dots sit above as many as three bars.
Stack by place
Units sit at the bottom. Each level above is worth twenty times the level below it.
Hold an empty place
A shell-like zero keeps a place empty, allowing values such as 400 to be written unambiguously.
Important distinction
Mathematics and calendar notation
This converter uses a regular vigesimal sequence: 20⁰, 20¹, 20², 20³. Maya Long Count dates use a specialized calendar sequence in which 18 uinal make one tun, producing 360 days rather than 400.
Open the Maya Calendar ConverterLearn from the source