Japanese kanji 十: the number ten

The idea

十 has 2 strokes; follow their order in the linked diagram. Read 十時（じゅうじ） and 十日（とおか） as complete words, because a character’s pronunciation depends on the word.

Examples

• 全部ぜんぶで十個じゅっこあります。There are ten items altogether.
• 宿題しゅくだいをして、十時じゅうじに寝ねます。I do my homework and go to bed at ten.
• 今日きょうは十日とおかです。Today is the tenth of the month.
• 十人じゅうにんで昼ひるご飯はんを食たべます。Ten of us have lunch together.
• 駅えきまで十分じゅっぷんかかります。It takes ten minutes to get to the station.
• このペンは十円じゅうえんです。This pen costs ten yen.

Watch out

The date 十日 is とおか. 十分 meaning ten minutes is じゅっぷん; the same spelling meaning sufficient is じゅうぶん. Compare the shape of 十 with 七.

Try it yourself

1. Write the reading of 十時 in hiragana. 「宿題しゅくだいをして、十時に寝ねます。」

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   じゅうじ

   十時 is read じゅうじ. In the example: I do my homework and go to bed at ten. Here it means “ten o’clock”.

2. Write the reading of 十日 in hiragana. 「今日きょうは十日です。」

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   とおか

   十日 is read とおか. In the example: Today is the tenth of the month. Here it means “the tenth of the month”.

3. Write the missing kanji: ＿時［十／七］（じゅうじ）.

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   十

   十 completes 十時, read じゅうじ. In the example: I do my homework and go to bed at ten. Here it means “ten o’clock”.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 十 from memory and read 十時 and 十日 aloud. Then check the readings against the examples.