(shí) — ten

Definition

Examples

  • Jiào shì lǐ yǒu shí gè rén.
    There are ten people in the classroom.
  • Wǒ mǎi le shí gè píng guǒ.
    I bought ten apples.
  • Zhè běn shū shí kuài qián.
    This book costs ten yuan.

Origin

Indicative sign
六书liùshū
指事zhǐshì

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early shape 十 was mostly a single vertical stroke, sometimes with a dot, and later gained a horizontal stroke to form a cross. For the number ten, it marked the next digit above one.

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