45 tally symbols

Tally Symbol Copy and Paste

A tally of five that every device can draw, plus the real tally marks, plain bars and counting rods.

卌Crossed strokesU+534CReady to copy

45 tally symbols. Tap any value to copy it.

45 tally symbols. A character and its name both copy the character. A code copies the code.
Character	Name	Code point	HTML	LaTeX
	U+534C. CJK unified ideograph-534C: four upright strokes crossed by one, the look of a tally gate. It is the Chinese character for forty, borrowed here for its shape, and any Chinese font has it.
	U+1D378. Four strokes and a slash across them: five. Added in Unicode 11.0, in 2018. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
	U+1D377. One upright stroke. Unicode's note on this pair: also called fence tally marks. Added in Unicode 11.0. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
	U+007C. The plain upright bar, which every font has. One bar, one count.
	U+007C U+007C. Two bars: two.
	U+007C U+007C U+007C. Three bars: three.
	U+007C U+007C U+007C U+007C. Four bars: four. A fifth count is the stroke across.
	U+6B63. CJK unified ideograph-6B63. Where Chinese characters are written, a tally is kept by building this character one stroke per count: five strokes, five. The character itself means right, proper or correct.
	U+1D364. Five upright rods side by side. Counting rod numerals have been in Unicode since version 5.0.
	U+2016. Two bars as one character.
	U+1D377 U+1D377. Two. Unicode has no tally mark two: it is tally mark one repeated, and a font is meant to draw the pair as one group. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
	U+1D377 U+1D377 U+1D377. Three, written as tally mark one repeated. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
	U+1D377 U+1D377 U+1D377 U+1D377. Four, written as tally mark one repeated. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
	U+2980. Three bars as one character, from mathematics.
	U+2223. A short upright bar from mathematics.
	U+2758. A thin upright bar from the Dingbats block.
	U+2502. A line-drawing bar. It joins the one above and below, so it suits a tally in a column.
	U+1D372. The first stroke of 正. Added in Unicode 11.0. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
	U+1D373. Two strokes of 正. Added in Unicode 11.0. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
	U+1D374. Three strokes of 正. Added in Unicode 11.0. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
	U+1D375. Four strokes of 正. Added in Unicode 11.0. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
	U+1D376. All five strokes. Unicode cross-refers it to 正, U+6B63. Added in Unicode 11.0. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
	U+1D360. One in the units place: one upright rod.
	U+1D361. Two in the units place: two upright rods.
	U+1D362. Three in the units place: three upright rods.
	U+1D363. Four in the units place: four upright rods.
	U+1D365. Six in the units place: one rod laid across, worth five, over one upright.
	U+1D366. Seven in the units place: one rod laid across, worth five, over two upright.
	U+1D367. Eight in the units place: one rod laid across, worth five, over three upright.
	U+1D368. Nine in the units place: one rod laid across, worth five, over four upright.
	U+1D369. One in the tens place: one level rod.
	U+1D36A. Two in the tens place: two level rods.
	U+1D36B. Three in the tens place: three level rods.
	U+1D36C. Four in the tens place: four level rods.
	U+1D36D. Five in the tens place: five level rods.
	U+1D36E. Six in the tens place: one upright rod, worth five, on one level.
	U+1D36F. Seven in the tens place: one upright rod, worth five, on two level.
	U+1D370. Eight in the tens place: one upright rod, worth five, on three level.
	U+1D371. Nine in the tens place: one upright rod, worth five, on four level.
	U+2160. The Roman numeral one as a single character. Roman numerals grew out of tally marks.
	U+2161. The Roman numeral two as a single character. Roman numerals grew out of tally marks.
	U+2162. The Roman numeral three as a single character. Roman numerals grew out of tally marks.
	U+4E00. CJK unified ideograph-4E00. The Chinese numeral one: one level stroke. The numerals one to three grew out of tally marks.
	U+4E8C. CJK unified ideograph-4E8C. The Chinese numeral two: two level strokes. The numerals one to three grew out of tally marks.
	U+4E09. CJK unified ideograph-4E09. The Chinese numeral three: three level strokes. The numerals one to three grew out of tally marks.

Next step Check marks for the finished count

How it works

𝍸 is the tally symbol proper: Tally mark five, U+1D378. It joined Unicode in 2018 and a device without a font for it draws an empty box. So the first row is 卌, a Chinese character with the same look, and the plain bars follow.

Read the full guide

One and five only

Unicode has two Western tally marks, 𝍷 for one and 𝍸 for five. Two, three and four have no characters of their own: they are 𝍷 repeated, and a font is meant to draw them as one group. Unicode's own note calls the pair fence tally marks.

The five-stroke tally

Where Chinese characters are written, a tally is kept by building 正 one stroke per count: five strokes make five, then a new character starts. Unicode has the five stages as 𝍲 𝍳 𝍴 𝍵 𝍶, added together with the Western pair.

卌 is the Chinese character for forty and 正 means right or correct. Both are borrowed here for their shape.
The counting rod numerals are older, in Unicode since version 5.0: 𝍤 is five upright rods.
In HTML the plain bar is | and the double bar ‖ is &Vert;.

Questions and answers

Why does the tally symbol show as a box?

𝍷 and 𝍸 were added in Unicode 11.0, in June 2018, and a device without a font for them draws an empty box. The plain bar | is in every font, and 卌 is in any Chinese font.

Is there a tally mark for two, three or four?

No. Only one and five were given characters. The others are written as tally mark one repeated: 𝍷𝍷, 𝍷𝍷𝍷 and 𝍷𝍷𝍷𝍷.

Why are tally marks grouped in fives?

For legibility: a group of five is far easier to read correctly than a group of ten, and fives turn into decimal numbers easily. In most of Europe and the English-speaking world the fifth count is a stroke across the first four.

What are counting rods?

Small bars that mathematicians in ancient East Asia laid out to calculate. One to five are that many rods, and a rod laid across the others stands for five. Upright forms mark the units place and level forms the tens.

All 45 tally symbols

Start here 10

Counting rod unit digit five U+1D364. Five upright rods side by side. Counting rod numerals have been in Unicode since version 5.0.
Crossed strokes U+534C. CJK unified ideograph-534C: four upright strokes crossed by one, the look of a tally gate. It is the Chinese character for forty, borrowed here for its shape, and any Chinese font has it.
Double vertical line U+2016. Two bars as one character.
Five-stroke tally character U+6B63. CJK unified ideograph-6B63. Where Chinese characters are written, a tally is kept by building this character one stroke per count: five strokes, five. The character itself means right, proper or correct.
Tally mark five U+1D378. Four strokes and a slash across them: five. Added in Unicode 11.0, in 2018. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
Tally mark one U+1D377. One upright stroke. Unicode's note on this pair: also called fence tally marks. Added in Unicode 11.0. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
Vertical line U+007C. The plain upright bar, which every font has. One bar, one count.
Vertical line, four times U+007C U+007C U+007C U+007C. Four bars: four. A fifth count is the stroke across.
Vertical line, three times U+007C U+007C U+007C. Three bars: three.
Vertical line, two times U+007C U+007C. Two bars: two.

Show all 45 tally symbols (35 more)

Plain bars and look-alikes 4

Box drawings light vertical U+2502. A line-drawing bar. It joins the one above and below, so it suits a tally in a column.
Divides U+2223. A short upright bar from mathematics.
Light vertical bar U+2758. A thin upright bar from the Dingbats block.
Triple vertical bar delimiter U+2980. Three bars as one character, from mathematics.

Tally marks, one and five 3

Tally mark one, four times U+1D377 U+1D377 U+1D377 U+1D377. Four, written as tally mark one repeated. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
Tally mark one, three times U+1D377 U+1D377 U+1D377. Three, written as tally mark one repeated. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
Tally mark one, two times U+1D377 U+1D377. Two. Unicode has no tally mark two: it is tally mark one repeated, and a font is meant to draw the pair as one group. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.

The five-stroke tally 5

Ideographic tally mark five U+1D376. All five strokes. Unicode cross-refers it to 正, U+6B63. Added in Unicode 11.0. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
Ideographic tally mark four U+1D375. Four strokes of 正. Added in Unicode 11.0. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
Ideographic tally mark one U+1D372. The first stroke of 正. Added in Unicode 11.0. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
Ideographic tally mark three U+1D374. Three strokes of 正. Added in Unicode 11.0. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.
Ideographic tally mark two U+1D373. Two strokes of 正. Added in Unicode 11.0. A device without a font for it draws an empty box.

Counting rod numerals 17

Counting rod tens digit eight U+1D370. Eight in the tens place: one upright rod, worth five, on three level.
Counting rod tens digit five U+1D36D. Five in the tens place: five level rods.
Counting rod tens digit four U+1D36C. Four in the tens place: four level rods.
Counting rod tens digit nine U+1D371. Nine in the tens place: one upright rod, worth five, on four level.
Counting rod tens digit one U+1D369. One in the tens place: one level rod.
Counting rod tens digit seven U+1D36F. Seven in the tens place: one upright rod, worth five, on two level.
Counting rod tens digit six U+1D36E. Six in the tens place: one upright rod, worth five, on one level.
Counting rod tens digit three U+1D36B. Three in the tens place: three level rods.
Counting rod tens digit two U+1D36A. Two in the tens place: two level rods.
Counting rod unit digit eight U+1D367. Eight in the units place: one rod laid across, worth five, over three upright.
Counting rod unit digit four U+1D363. Four in the units place: four upright rods.
Counting rod unit digit nine U+1D368. Nine in the units place: one rod laid across, worth five, over four upright.
Counting rod unit digit one U+1D360. One in the units place: one upright rod.
Counting rod unit digit seven U+1D366. Seven in the units place: one rod laid across, worth five, over two upright.
Counting rod unit digit six U+1D365. Six in the units place: one rod laid across, worth five, over one upright.
Counting rod unit digit three U+1D362. Three in the units place: three upright rods.
Counting rod unit digit two U+1D361. Two in the units place: two upright rods.

Numerals that came from tallies 6

Chinese numeral one U+4E00. CJK unified ideograph-4E00. The Chinese numeral one: one level stroke. The numerals one to three grew out of tally marks.
Chinese numeral three U+4E09. CJK unified ideograph-4E09. The Chinese numeral three: three level strokes. The numerals one to three grew out of tally marks.
Chinese numeral two U+4E8C. CJK unified ideograph-4E8C. The Chinese numeral two: two level strokes. The numerals one to three grew out of tally marks.
Roman numeral one U+2160. The Roman numeral one as a single character. Roman numerals grew out of tally marks.
Roman numeral three U+2162. The Roman numeral three as a single character. Roman numerals grew out of tally marks.
Roman numeral two U+2161. The Roman numeral two as a single character. Roman numerals grew out of tally marks.

How this list was compiled: Built on 2026-09-30. Names, and the code points they belong to, are checked against UnicodeData.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/UnicodeData.txt), and printed in sentence case; a row made of one character repeated says so in its name. The note on fence tally marks and the cross-reference from ideographic tally mark five to U+6B63 are from NamesList.txt of the same version (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/NamesList.txt); the version a character was added in is from DerivedAge.txt and block names from Blocks.txt. What the three Chinese characters mean is from the Unihan database, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/Unihan.zip, kDefinition: U+534C forty, U+6B63 right, proper, correct, U+4E00 to U+4E09 one, two, three). HTML entities are from the list of named character references in the HTML Standard (https://html.spec.whatwg.org/entities.json) and LaTeX commands from the symbol table of the unicode-math package (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/latex3/unicode-math/master/unicode-math-table.tex), both read again on 2026-10-15. Fetched 2026-09-30: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tally_marks (tallies are clustered in fives; the five-stroke character tally; Unicode 11.0 of June 2018 added the two Western tally marks and the five ideographic ones; only one and five are encoded and two to four are sequences of tally mark one; Roman numerals, the Chinese numerals one to three and rod numerals derive from tally marks) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counting_rods (rods used for calculation in ancient East Asia; a rod laid across stands for five; upright forms for units, level forms for tens). Licence: own work (facts from the Unicode Character Database, Unicode License v3, and from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, restated in this site's own words; aliases and notes marked as Unicode's are quoted from NamesList.txt, Copyright © 1991-2026 Unicode, Inc., https://www.unicode.org/license.txt)