How to read an abacus
- Find the middle bar. Only beads touching the bar count.
- On each rod, the top red bead is worth 5 when touching the bar.
- The bottom yellow beads are worth 1 each when pushed up to the bar.
- Read the rods from left to right to see the full number.
Questions
How do you read a number on an abacus?
Only beads touching the middle bar count! A yellow bottom bead pushed up counts as 1. The red top bead pulled down counts as 5. Simply add the active beads on each rod and read them from left to right.