十

It is an ideogram (指事字) originally representing the number 10 with a vertical stroke in ancient times.

Over time, a dot appeared in the middle of the vertical stroke, which then lengthened horizontally, evolving into the current form.

Originally, the character 十 was also used to mean “to stab” or “to cut,” but due to confusion with the number 10 (열 십), the vertical stroke bent to form 七 (seven).

Since 七 was later used as a phonetic loan for 7, the character 切 (to cut) was created by adding 刀 (knife) to 七.

This character is used in all words expressing the number 10.

A complex form (variant) is 拾 (to pick up), and another variant is 什 (ten people).

When used as a radical, the shape resembles a cross more closely.