Sempoa vs jarimatika: what is the difference?

Sempoa uses an abacus with beads; jarimatika uses the ten fingers. Both make numbers something a child can see and move, but they work differently and lead to different goals.

What is jarimatika?

Jarimatika (from "jari", finger, and "aritmatika", arithmetic) is a finger-counting method developed in Indonesia by Septi Peni Wulandani between 2000 and 2003, and first published as a book in 2003. The right hand stands for ones and the left hand for tens. Children use it to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Its big advantage: the tool is always with you.

What is sempoa?

Sempoa is the abacus: a frame with rows of beads, where each column stands for one place value – ones, tens, hundreds and so on. Children first move real beads. Over time, they learn to picture the abacus in their mind and calculate without it. This is called mental arithmetic.

The main differences

Which one is better?

Neither is better for every child, because they aim at different things. Jarimatika is a practical aid for basic sums in the early school years. Sempoa is a longer training path that ends in mental calculation with large numbers, and it trains focus and memory along the way. The logic of the two is similar, so a child who already knows jarimatika can still learn sempoa.

How Genikidz teaches sempoa

Genikidz trains the brain through four methods created by world champion abacus master JeongHee Lee:

• Abacus (Jusan) – touch: fast finger movements on the beads.
• Dictation (Hosan) – hearing: listen to the numbers and calculate on the abacus.
• Mental Math (Amsan) – sight: see the numbers and calculate in the mind.
• Flash Math – sight and memory: numbers flash on a screen and are added in the mind.

Classes are small: Private (1 student) or Semi-private (2–4 students).