# How do you write the number seven? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 18, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956 "2019-10-18T14:12:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/1 "2019-10-18T14:12:10Z")
The natural number seven. In handwriting, there are typically two widely used glyphs: the “traditional” Hindu way; more or less like this, possibly with curved lines: [https://www.drodd.com/images15/7-11.jpg](https://www.drodd.com/images15/7-11.jpg) or the “European” way (also common in Latin America), with a line or slash drawn through the center: [https://www.drodd.com/images15/7-8.png](https://www.drodd.com/images15/7-8.png) Which way do you write it? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/2 "2019-10-18T14:14:00Z")
European usually. Sometimes I’ll write it without the central slash if I know my reader finds it confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/3 "2019-10-18T14:22:10Z")
Have never ever ever used the slash (but was aware that the variation exists.) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/4 "2019-10-18T14:52:26Z")
Never with a slash. But often with a hint of a serif at the top (somewhere between the two 7s shown here: [File:Sevens.svg - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sevens.svg)). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/5 "2019-10-18T14:57:23Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Never with a slash. But often with a hint of a serif at the top (somewhere between the two 7s shown here: [File:Sevens.svg - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sevens.svg)). I make it like either of those. I think I did the slash thing briefly in grade school but it never stuck. The only thing I put a slash through is the letter “Z” because I have terrible handwriting and mixing up a Z with a 2 somewhere in the middle of a 2 page diff eq problem was becoming an issue. Granted, I don’t do a whole lot of multi variable math these days, but the habit is still there. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/6 "2019-10-18T15:09:43Z")
I write an unadorned 7. It’s the American thing to do, unlike that horizontal slash Euro-affectation. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/7 "2019-10-18T15:09:57Z")
I occasionally write the slash if it’s very important that the number be read correctly. In such a case I’ll also put a hook at the top and serif at the bottom of any 1’s. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/8 "2019-10-18T15:10:22Z")
European: learned, as a Boy Scout, that “1” and “7” are easily confused and “-” can make all the difference (especially if you hastily scribble down a note that’s meant to relay vital information, For Want Of A Nail and all that). ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/9 "2019-10-18T15:22:47Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > European: learned, as a Boy Scout, that “1” and “7” are easily confused and “-” can make all the difference (especially if you hastily scribble down a note that’s meant to relay vital information, For Want Of A Nail and all that). This for me too. I find that Europeans write the digit “one” with a more significant top-left piece, which looks more like an American “seven”, so the slash helps distinguish the “seven”. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/10 "2019-10-18T15:26:11Z")
And another “slash”-er here. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/11 "2019-10-18T15:27:28Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I occasionally write the slash if it’s very important that the number be read correctly. In such a case I’ll also put a hook at the top and serif at the bottom of any 1’s. This is what I do. Usually on checks probably, which is ironic since Europeans don’t write checks anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/12 "2019-10-18T15:27:33Z")
I slash my 7s, though my 1s are pretty much just a vertical line so it’s not to allay any confusion. I just like it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/13 "2019-10-18T15:57:58Z")
I put a slash through my sevens 90% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/14 "2019-10-18T16:18:35Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > European: learned, as a Boy Scout, that “1” and “7” are easily confused and “-” can make all the difference (especially if you hastily scribble down a note that’s meant to relay vital information, For Want Of A Nail and all that). Back when I scrutineered dance competitions, the same mark could be a 7 if written by an American, a 4 if written by a continental European, and a 1 if written by a Brit. (I think I have the nationalities right that go with the different orthographies.) But even putting a slash on a 7 doesn’t always eliminate all confusion, because some Americans use the horizontal base on a 1, and if they are writing fast without looking at the paper because they are trying to see the dancers, sometimes they end up with a 1 that looks a lot like a crossed 7. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/15 "2019-10-18T16:22:12Z")
Started going slashy in eighth grade, inspired by my science teacher. Kept it up for 10 or 15 years, but now I almost always do it slashless. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/16 "2019-10-18T16:26:57Z")
Always slash my sevens. Picked it up as a child in Europe and have kept it up for the last 50 years. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/17 "2019-10-18T16:27:39Z")
Slasher ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/18 "2019-10-18T16:35:01Z")
European mostly but I will leave off the slash if I’m just doing some fast math for myself. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/19 "2019-10-18T16:42:38Z")
No slash. My ones and sevens are distinct. It isn’t much of a problem from other people but if you point your ones you should slash your sevens. In ye olde days, working with coding sheets and the like, pointed ones and unslashed zeroes were frowned upon. If you got frowned upon three times you got fired. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956/20 "2019-10-18T17:00:45Z")
I’m a simple soul. My 7 has two strokes, and my 1 has one. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-write-the-number-seven/841956.md?page=2)