Most people struggle when trying to remember abstract things like numbers, mostly because no one taught them how to do it.
One of the best ways to memorize abstract things, is to transform them into funny, vulgar and distinctive visual mental images. But you need an easy system to keep up the motivation for training new mental skills.
The phonetic number system
A system with many names like:
- The major system.
- The phonetic number system.
- The phonetic mnemonic system.
It's a simple technique used to remember sequences of numbers, like PI. The system converts numbers to phonetic consonant sounds.
The number values are used to shape funny vulgar, grotesque, and easily memorable mental images, stories or verses based on phonetic sound of words.
Examples of phonetics
It's about the way the word sounds, not how it's spelled.
- knife → sounds like "nife" (silent k)
- knee → sounds like "nee" (silent k)
- know → sounds like "no" (silent k)
- knight → sounds like "nite" (silent k)
- gnat → sounds like "nat" (silent g)
- gnome → sounds like "nome" (silent g)
- sign → sounds like "sine" (silent g)
- design → sounds like "dizine" (silent g)
- doubt → sounds like "dowt" (silent b)
- subtle → sounds like "suttle" (silent b)
- comb → sounds like "come" (silent b)
- salmon → sounds like "samon" (silent l)
- walk → sounds like "wok" (silent l)
- calm → sounds like "cam" (silent l)
- island → sounds like "iland" (silent s)
Rules
- It is important to understand, that it is not the written word, but the phonetic sound of the letters, the way they are used in the specific word.
- Only phonetic consonant sounds carry a numerical value.
- Phonetically silent letters and vowels (a, e, i, o, u, y, h and w) have no value, so they are ignored. But the "Y" in "You" or the "U" in Unique, are not phonetically silent, because they sound like a "J", so in this situation, they will both carry the same value, the value of a "J" (6).
- When a word contains consecutive phonetic consonants, only the first one counts as a numeric value, the rest are ignored value-wise. (some choose to ignore this rule, but it is important to know, if others have to decipher it).
THE PHONETIC NUMBER AND LETTER LIST
Below is a list of the digits 0 - 9. Each of the digits are associated with:
- One or more possible phonetic consonants, representing this digit.
- A sentence to memorize the association between digit and phonetic consonants.
- Examples of usable words.
0
soft c, s, z, x
Zoo, Xylophone
1
t, d, th
Tie, Tea, THe, Die, Dye
2
n
"n" has 2 legs touching the ground.
Noah, kNee, kNow, Now
3
m
"m" has 3 legs touching the ground.
My, May, More, eMu
4
r
"r" is the last letter in "four".
Raw, Row, Roar, eaR
5
l
Strech 5 fingers and the thumb and index finger forms an "l".
Law, Low, Lay, Lie
6
j, y, ch, sh
Jaw, Joy, You, CHew, CHai, SHoe
7
hard c, k, g, q
Cow, oaK, eGg, aQua
8
f, v, ph
Fee, Foe, View, iVy
9
b, p
Bee, Bay, Pea, aPe
CONVERTING A NUMBER INTO WORDS
Lets say you need to remember a simple 4-digit pin-kode, like:
1 2 3 4
Now we need to create one or more words (a sentence) to hold this number, but first we need to find the matching phonetic consonant, for each digit in this number.
Finding the phonetic consonants
For each digit, find the matching phonetic consonant, from the phonetic number list above.
- 1 = T or D (we will select T)
- 2 = N
- 3 = M
- 4 = R
Now we have the possible consonents.
Filling in the blanks
Now we have to fill in the "blanks", with vowels, while creating a sentence.
The sentence we're creating can have vowels surrounding the consonants (before, after and in between).
We end up with a template like this.
[?] + T + [?] + N + [?] + M + [?] + R + [?].
Note:
- The [?] = optional number of vowels and phonetically silent consonants.
- You can add extra (silent/ignored) consonants, as long as they succeed another consonant. Like in "hammer", the second "m" is ignore when converting the sentence back to its number.
Visualize the sentence
The best results are when you make a weird sentence and try to imagine a funny mental image of the sentence. With the number 1234, the sentence could be: tiny mower.
TiNy MoweR.
T = 1, N = 2, M = 3 og R = 4.
The silent letter "w" and vowels are ignored when converting back to numbers.
101 PEG WORDS
So now you know how to convert between numbers and words, but you don't want to waste your time generating words all the time, for all possible numbers.
Here is a list of 101 common and mentally visual symbols (peg words) from 0 - 100. Only the orange bold letters have a numeric value, all others letters are void, they have no value and are ignored.
| 0 | Zoo | 20 | NoSe | 40 | RoSe | 60 | CHeeSe | 80 | VaSe |
| 1 | Tie | 21 | NuT | 41 | RaT | 61 | SHeeT | 81 | FooT |
| 2 | kNee | 22 | NuN | 42 | RaiN | 62 | CHaiN | 82 | PHoNe |
| 3 | eMu | 23 | gNoMe | 43 | RaM | 63 | GyM | 83 | FoaM |
| 4 | eaR | 24 | NeRo | 44 | ReaR | 64 | CHeRry | 84 | FiRe |
| 5 | Law | 25 | NaiL | 45 | RaiL | 65 | JeweL | 85 | FoaL |
| 6 | SHoe | 26 | NaCHo | 46 | RoaCH | 66 | JudGe | 86 | FiSH |
| 7 | Cow | 27 | NecK | 47 | RocK | 67 | CHalK | 87 | FoG |
| 8 | iVy | 28 | kNiFe | 48 | RooF | 68 | CHeF | 88 | FiFe |
| 9 | Bee | 29 | kNoB | 49 | RoPe | 69 | SHiP | 89 | V.i.P |
| 10 | DiCe | 30 | MouSe | 50 | LaCe | 70 | CaSe | 90 | BuS |
| 11 | TaTtoo | 31 | MaT | 51 | LighT | 71 | CaT | 91 | BaT |
| 12 | TiN | 32 | MooN | 52 | LioN | 72 | CoiN | 92 | BuN |
| 13 | ToMb | 33 | MuMmy | 53 | LaMb | 73 | CoMb | 93 | BoMb |
| 14 | TiRe | 34 | MoweR | 54 | LuRe | 74 | CaR | 94 | BeaR |
| 15 | ToweL | 35 | MuLe | 55 | LiLy | 75 | CoaL | 95 | BeLl |
| 16 | DiSH | 36 | MatCH | 56 | LeaSH | 76 | CaGe | 96 | BeaCH |
| 17 | DucK | 37 | MuG | 57 | LoG | 77 | CaKe | 97 | BooK |
| 18 | DoVe | 38 | MoVie | 58 | LeaF | 78 | CaVe | 98 | PooF |
| 19 | TuB | 39 | MaP | 59 | LiP | 79 | CaP | 99 | PuPpy |
100 = DaiSieS
PEGWORD GALLERY
Click the images to slide through the pegwords.
LETS PLAY A LITTLE
Deciphering a sentence
Let us start by deciphering a sentence back to numbers.
I've taken a sentence from a Bob Marley song.
I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot no deputy...
61 647 91 11 21 61 2 191
Deciphering a poem of PI
Deciphering a weird poem for 55 digits of PI.
3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209
Mad rat, loop nacho lamb
3.1 41 59 26 53
Love book bomb, fire shitty gym
58 97 93 23 84 62 64
Mummy, foam nuke bull, soon Fifi rot up
33 83 27 95 02 88 41 9
Cat shop mob bomb, called soul fun soup
71 69 39 93 751 05 82 09
Note
It's important to imagine and visualize the weird sentences in the poem,
in a grotesque and funny way, to make them more memorable.
YOUTUBES
MEMORIZING PI WITH THE PHONETIC SYSTEM
Most people think that you have to be a savant to memorize a large number like PI, but everyone can do it, if they are motivated enough.
THE GREAT MATHMAGICIAN ARTHUR BENJAMIN
Arthur Benjamin demonstrates his amazing math and memory magic, using the phonetic system for his intermediate math results. Find his mental math books on our book list (at the bottom of the list).
Digit |
Sound |
IPA Sound |
Associations |
Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | soft c, s, z, x | /s, z/ | Zoo, Xylophone | |
| 1 | t, d, th | /t, d/ | Tie, Dye | |
| 2 | n | /n/ | "n" has 2 legs touching the ground. | Noah, kNee |
| 3 | m | /m/ | "m" has 3 legs touching on the ground. | eMu |
| 4 | r | /ɹ, r/ | Last letter in 4 is "r". | eaR |
| 5 | l | /l/ | Strech 5 fingers and the thumb and index finger is a "l". | Law |
| 6 | j, y, ch, sh | /tʃ, dʒ, ʃ, ʒ/ | Jaw , You, SHoe | |
| 7 | hard c, k, g, q | /g, k/ | Cow, oaK, eGg, aQua | |
| 8 | f, v, ph | /f, v/ | Fay, iVy | |
| 9 | b, p | /b, p/ | Bee, Pea |