十 means “ten”

じゅう · juu

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

とお, と, そ

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ジュウ, ジッ, ジュッ

JLPT N5 · Taught in grade 1 · 2 strokes

The story

A perfect cross: ten marks completion, the cycle fulfilled, the journey from one returned to wholeness.

Ten is the basis of the counting system: master it to count anything

Where it comes from

Ideographic (指事文字): A needle or vertical mark indicating completeness.

Ancient people counted on their fingers: ten fingers meant a complete set. The cross shape (+) was used to mark completion: a vertical line crossing through a horizontal one, meaning "a full count."

To remember it: A cross (†) marks the spot where counting restarts. Ten is a full set.

Its parts

• 十 Ten · Entire character

A cross shape: ten, completeness

Words with 十

• 十人 (じゅうにん, juunin): ten people
• 十分 (じゅうぶん, juubun): enough / sufficient

Example sentences

• 十分で着きます。 I'll arrive in ten minutes.
• 十月は秋です。 October is autumn.

Kanji that look like 十

• 千 (thousand): 千 adds a slanted stroke at top-left: ten × 100 = thousand

More from Ancient Counting

• 百 hundred
• 千 thousand
• 万 ten thousand
• 半 half
• 零 zero
• 数 number
• 一番 first
• 年 year
• 分 minute
• 多 many
• 一 one
• 二 two

Learn 十 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.