What is the Major System, and why does it make numbers easier to remember?

A mnemonic that maps each digit 0–9 to a consonant sound, so any number can be turned into a memorable word.

Raw digits are abstract and forgettable; concrete words — especially picturable nouns — are not. The Major System exploits this: you replace each digit with a consonant sound, then fill in vowels freely to build a word you can see in your mind.

• 47 → sounds r · k → rake
• 32 → sounds m · n → moon

Because the vowels are free, most numbers have several possible words — you pick whichever is most vivid. Recalling the word and decoding its consonants back into digits reproduces the number exactly.

Tip: It's also called the phonetic number system. Once the ten rules are automatic, encoding and decoding become nearly instant.