ten

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 十 is a two-stroke character representing 10; its on-reading is じゅう.
• Basic usage: 十月, read じゅうがつ, means October; 十日, read とおか, means ten days or the tenth day of a month.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Month and date
  • 十月 names a month, while 十日 is a duration or a date. 六月十日 means June tenth.
• Two readings of 十分
  • 十分 read じゅっぷん means ten minutes; read じゅうぶん, it expresses sufficiency. The same spelling thus distinguishes time from degree.