Desyat

Desyat is the transliteration commonly used in English-language texts for the Slavic word referring to the number ten. In Russian, the form is десять (desyat’); in other Slavic languages there are closely related cognates such as Ukrainian десять (desiat’/desyat’), Serbo-Croatian deset, and Bulgarian десет (deset). These terms all derive from a common Proto-Slavic root for ten and, more broadly, from the Proto-Indo-European word for ten.

The word functions as the cardinal numeral for the quantity 10. It is used in counting, measuring, and describing order or amount, and appears in common phrases across languages, for example ten people or ten items. In Russian and related languages, the numeral interacts with grammatical cases and number agreement when modifying nouns. The written form in most Slavic alphabets is a single word, and in many languages the pronunciation reflects a shared root with minor phonetic variations.

Ten is also notable for its role as a base in decimal counting systems. The decimal system, which groups numbers into sets of ten, underpins daily arithmetic, finance, and science in many cultures. The concept of ten influences timekeeping, decades, and various units of measurement that are organized in tens.

Culturally, the number ten appears in various traditions and idioms worldwide, such as references to counting, completeness, or thresholds (for example, “tenfold,” “tenth,” or the idea of a complete set of ten items). As a basic numeral, desyat and its cognates provide a foundational element across Slavic languages and related linguistic families.