十 — Kanji Reference

十 (ten): 2 strokes, JLPT N5. On: ジュウ、ジッ. Kun: とお、と.

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十

Property Value
Meaning ten
Strokes 2
JLPT Level N5
On-reading (音読み) ジュウ (Jū)、ジッ (Ji)
Kun-reading (訓読み) とお (tō)、と (to)
Radical 十 (jū) [U+5341]

Stroke Order

The kanji 十 is written in two simple strokes following the standard rule of "horizontal before vertical":

  1. Stroke 1: A horizontal line written from left to right.
  2. Stroke 2: A vertical line written from top to bottom, crossing the center of the first stroke.

Radical Analysis

The kanji 十 is a radical itself (the jū radical). It is a pictograph representing a tally mark or a knot tied in a rope to signify the number ten. In many kanji, it serves as a foundational component, often representing completeness or a crossing point.

Mnemonic

  • The Compass: Imagine a compass pointing in all four directions. The intersection represents the center point where you have reached the "ten" mark on your journey.
  • The Plus Sign: Think of it as a mathematical plus sign (+). If you have 5 apples and add 5 more, you have ten!

On-readings (音読み) with Examples

ジュウ (Jū)

Word Reading Romaji English
十分 じゅうぶん jūbun enough / plenty
十月 じゅうがつ jūgatsu October
十代 じゅうだい jūdai teenage years

ジッ (Ji) — Used before certain consonants

Word Reading Romaji English
十回 じっかい jikkai ten times
十歳 じっさい jissai ten years old
十分 じっぷん jippun ten minutes

Kun-readings (訓読み) with Examples

とお (tō)

Word Reading Romaji English
十日 とおか tōka tenth day of the month
十人 とおり tōri ten people (archaic/specific)

と (to)

Word Reading Romaji English
二十歳 はたち hatachi twenty years old
十六夜 いざよい izayoi sixteenth night of the lunar month

JLPT N5 Words Using 十

Word Reading Romaji English JLPT
十 じゅう jū ten N5
十分 じゅうぶん jūbun enough N5
十月 じゅうがつ jūgatsu October N5
十日 とおか tōka 10th day N5
二十歳 はたち hatachi 20 years old N5
十時 じゅうじ jūji 10 o'clock N5
十人 じゅうにん jūnin ten people N5
十字路 じゅうじろ jūjiro crossroads N4

Example Sentences

Japanese Reading Romaji English
私は十歳です。 わたしはじゅっさいです。 Watashi wa jissai desu. I am ten years old.
十分に寝ました。 じゅうぶんにねました。 Jūbun ni nemashita. I slept enough.
十月は涼しいです。 じゅうがつはすずしいです。 Jūgatsu wa suzushii desu. October is cool.
十時に会いましょう。 じゅうじにあいましょう。 Jūji ni aimashō. Let's meet at 10 o'clock.
十日後に帰ります。 とおかごにかえります。 Tōka-go ni kaerimasu. I will return in ten days.
彼は二十歳です。 かれははたちです。 Kare wa hatachi desu. He is twenty years old.

Common Confusion Pairs

Kanji Reading Meaning How to distinguish
十 じゅう ten Two strokes; forms a perfect cross.
千 せん thousand Three strokes; has a small dash on the top left.
干 かん dry Three strokes; the top horizontal line is shorter than the bottom.

Usage Frequency Note

十 is one of the most frequently used kanji in the Japanese language. It appears in daily life constantly, from telling time and dates to counting objects and expressing quantities. It is essential for basic literacy and is learned in the first year of elementary school (Grade 1).