十 (shí) — ten

十 (shí)

The number ten; Chinese counting is perfectly logical from ten onward — 十一 (11), 十二 (12), 二十 (20), 二十一 (21) — making arithmetic transparent once you know 一 through 十.

Meanings

1. [number] Ten, the digit 10.
2. [adjective] Complete, perfect (in idioms: 十全十美, perfect in every way).

Example Sentences

十加十等于二十。 Shí jiā shí děngyú èrshí. Ten plus ten equals twenty.

他学中文学了十年了。 Tā xué Zhōngwén xuéle shí nián le. He has studied Chinese for ten years.

这本书有十个章节。 Zhè běn shū yǒu shí gè zhāngjié. This book has ten chapters.

教室里有十五个学生。 Jiàoshì lǐ yǒu shíwǔ gè xuésheng. There are fifteen students in the classroom.

Collocations

Memory Hook

十 is a cross shape: one vertical stroke and one horizontal stroke crossing at the center. Ten fingers on two hands — and the character looks like crossing your hands to count all ten.