Mispar Katan
Mispar katan (“small number”) reduces every letter to a single digit by dropping its zeros. י (10) becomes 1, ק (100) becomes 1, ש (300) becomes 3 and ת (400) becomes 4. The reduced values are then added together. The total itself is not reduced; that is Mispar Katan Mispari.
Letter values
| Letter | Name | Katan value |
|---|---|---|
| א | Alef | 1 |
| ב | Bet | 2 |
| ג | Gimel | 3 |
| ד | Dalet | 4 |
| ה | He | 5 |
| ו | Vav | 6 |
| ז | Zayin | 7 |
| ח | Chet | 8 |
| ט | Tet | 9 |
| י | Yod | 1 |
| כ | Kaf | 2 |
| ל | Lamed | 3 |
| מ | Mem | 4 |
| נ | Nun | 5 |
| ס | Samekh | 6 |
| ע | Ayin | 7 |
| פ | Pe | 8 |
| צ | Tsadi | 9 |
| ק | Qof | 1 |
| ר | Resh | 2 |
| ש | Shin | 3 |
| ת | Tav | 4 |
| ך | Kaf (final) | 2 |
| ם | Mem (final) | 4 |
| ן | Nun (final) | 5 |
| ף | Pe (final) | 8 |
| ץ | Tsadi (final) | 9 |
Final letters take the value of their ordinary form (ך = 2, ם = 4). Some writers reduce the Gadol values instead (ך = 5), but that is less common and the calculator does not use it.
Worked examples
שלום — shalom
ש 3 + ל 3 + ו 6 + ם 4 = 16
תורה — Torah
ת 4 + ו 6 + ר 2 + ה 5 = 17
ישראל — Israel
י 1 + ש 3 + ר 2 + א 1 + ל 3 = 10