Cistercian numerals are a family of decimal numeral systems that combine digit patterns around a common stem or stave. The basic notation represents the positive integers from 1 through 9999 by single compound symbols (King 2001, Miller 2020).
In one schematic vertical convention, the units occupy the upper right, tens the upper left, hundreds the lower right, and thousands the lower left (King 2001, p. 36). Thus the four compartments encode the decimal expansion
 |
where 
,
,
,
and 
are decimal digits, not all zero.
A zero-valued position adds no stroke. This omission does
not give a standalone numeral for zero
in the basic notation (Miller 2020, p. 2).
An exact line segment realization of these vertical forms uses a stave from 
to 
and points 
, 
, 
, and 
in the units compartment. Its basic patterns for digits 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 are the line
segments 
,
,
,
,
and 
,
respectively. The patterns for 5, 7, 8, and 9 combine those for 1 and 4, 1 and 6,
2 and 6, and 1, 2, and 6, respectively. The pattern for zero
is empty. Reflection across the y-axis
gives the tens patterns, while reflection across the
x-axis gives the hundreds patterns. Both reflections
give the thousands patterns. The four patterns and the common stave are combined
into one symbol.
Each compartment has ten choices, an empty pattern or one of nine distinct nonempty patterns. Reading the compartments independently recovers the four digits,
so this fixed convention gives exactly 
distinct nonzero numerals.
Historical forms vary in stave orientation, digit shapes, and place assignment. In particular, the triangular pattern for 5 used above is not universal (King 2001, pp. 34, 36, 39; Miller 2020).
