ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Arabic numerals

Arabic numerals are a special type of numbers that we use to count things. They are not the same as letters in the alphabet.

Arabic numerals are different from Roman numerals, which you may have seen on old buildings or in books. Roman numerals are symbols made up of letters like "V" for 5 and "X" for 10. They were used a long time ago, but now we use Arabic numerals almost everywhere in the world.

The Arabic numeral system has ten digits from 0 to 9, and the value of the numeral depends on its position in the number. For example, the numeral 1 in the number 123 is worth just one, but the numeral 1 in the number 1,000 is worth a lot more than just one.

These numbers are used in many different places, such as on clocks and in mathematics. So, next time you see a number, remember that the Arabic numerals are the ones used to represent it.