<p>This is an interesting topic; it touches one of the core idea of the Chinese language.</p>

<p>The Chinese language and all its dialects have not been designed by one inventor at one specific day. Instead, they were created and evolved at different regions through thousands of years at least.</p>

<p>Evidences (see below) showed that some of the Chinese characters from four to ten (四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九) evolves as the type of 轉注 (轉注者，建類一首，同意相受。考、老是也。) or 假借 (假借者，本無其字，依聲託事。令、長是也。) instead of 象形 (象形者，畫成其物，隨體詰詘。日、月是也。); and one and ten (一, 十) evolves as the type of 指事 (指事者，視而可識，察而見意。上、下是也。) or 會意 (會意者，比類合宜，以見指撝。武、信是也。) instead of 象形. Any reference, say, 《鐵雲藏龜》by 清 劉鶚 in 1903 (清光緒二十九年), or the one below, can only act as possible explanations at their intellectual best.</p>

<h1>Reference</h1>

<ul>
<li>《說文解字》by 漢 許慎.</li>
<li>《鐵雲藏龜》by 清 劉鶚 in 1903 (清 光緒二十九年).</li>
<li>《白魚解字》by 流沙河 in 2014, ISBN 9787514317329.</li>
</ul>

<h1>One Possible Explanation</h1>

<ul>
<li><p>一: one bar. May mean the whole, the universe. <a href="http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3598" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reference</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>二: two bars. May mean the positive and negative. The upper may refer to the heaven, the lower the earth. <a href="http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3599" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reference</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>三: three bars. The upper may refer to the heaven, the lower the earth, and the middle the human. <a href="http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3601" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reference</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>四: First |||| (four bars), then combines with 二 to avoid ambiguity: <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/pGU6k.gif" alt="enter image description here">, like being mistaken to be two ||. <a href="http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3602" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reference</a>.</p></li>
<li>五: First a 二 with X in between: <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/WKSPL.gif" alt="enter image description here">. The two bars are sky and earth, the X being the intersection between them, to mean all positive number greater than four. <a href="http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3603" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reference</a>.</li>
<li>六: <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/907Dy.gif" alt="enter image description here">￼, a house with four sides plus roof and ground giving six. <a href="http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3604" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reference</a>.</li>
<li>七: Designed originally to be 十 (meaning all number greater than six) with a twist on the bottom: <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/VoFm5.gif" alt="enter image description here">. <a href="http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3605" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reference</a>.</li>
<li>八: Opposite bracket-like curve <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/q4cAa.gif" alt="enter image description here"> meaning "divide", used to be greatest number. See 八卦.  <a href="http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3606" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reference</a>.</li>
<li>九: Designed originally to be a right arm (<img src="https://i.sstatic.net/EHiLC.gif" alt="enter image description here">) reaching for something. Nine bears a meaning of great, the number of categories for many things. <a href="http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3607" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reference</a>.</li>
<li>十: | (a rope overhung) combines with a knot on it: <img src="https://i.sstatic.net/jF1tR.gif" alt="enter image description here">. Using ten to mean "all" may be because of the fact that we have ten fingers. <a href="http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3608" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Reference</a>.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Another possible explanation</h1>

<p>At first, people may invent those most frequently used: one, two, and three, as put by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi" rel="nofollow noreferrer">老子</a> in 「<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching" rel="nofollow noreferrer">道德經</a>」: 道立于一, 一生二, 二生三, 三生萬物. ("The Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three;
Three produced All things." <a href="http://www.sacred-texts.com/tao/taote.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">translated</a> by James Legge )</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-28T13:11:54.873Z
Hi @Stan,

I've found evidences (see below) that some of the Chinese characters from four to ten (四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九)  evolves as the type of 轉注 (轉注者，建類一首，同意相受。考、老是也。) or 假借 (假借者，本無其字，依聲託事。令、長是也。) instead of 象形 (象形者，畫成其物，隨體詰詘。日、月是也。); and one and ten (一, 十) evolves as the type of 指事 (指事者，視而可識，察而見意。上、下是也。) or 會意 (會意者，比類合宜，以見指撝。武、信是也。) instead of 象形. Any reference, say,《鐵雲藏龜》by 清 劉鶚 in 1903 (清光緒二十九年), or the one below, can only act as possible explanations at their intellectual best.

Reference:
《說文解字》漢 許慎
《白魚解字》by 流沙河 in 2014, ISBN 9787514317329.

Cheers,
Cong
George
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-04T05:27:16.600Z
+1 for great answer and reference.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-04T05:37:23.370Z
Great answer, however I don't really understand the reasoning behind 七,八,九,十; it seems that at some point they were all the biggest number or "great" number, but that doesn't explain why they look like they do. For example, what does the 八 "divide" have anything to do with being the biggest number?
congusbongus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-04T05:44:51.753Z
Um, I see.. yeah it's not so intuitive as just a bundle of eight bars.. I'll try to update with some more info when I have time.
George
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-04T07:07:18.360Z
After reading through many entries of your reference [象形字典](http://vividict.com/Default.aspx) site, I have something to criticize: 1. It is a very good reference; 2. But **many explanations on that site are somehow too subjective and so that controversial**. For example, 二 in character [仁](http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=1556) is explained as an equal sign! It lacks historical source to support such an opinion, and furthermore, it goes against the "hierarchical society" concept in the confucianism. So, maybe we should accept it only after a more prudent thinking -- 盡信書不如無書.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-04T07:40:12.087Z
Yes, I agree. Will double check them later :D
George
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-06T07:19:11.417Z
Hmm, I find in 甲骨文字典(徐中舒) some explanations of the number characters are different. I think it is better to consider 徐's opinion as the  mainstream even the standard. 象形字典 is much less deliberate on the research of archaeology.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-06T07:56:47.547Z
I agree. What's the page you find, is it [this page](https://i.sstatic.net/VA32P.png)?
George
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-06T08:16:42.690Z
@congliu **No.** Have you downloaded the whole book? Each number character has their own entry. You can look up them in the 檢字 part of the dictionary (117/1746 of the PDF file). After considering most languages were developed following "first there existed pronunciations and second there existed writing system", I personally think those explanations in 甲骨文字典 are correct, but those in 象形字典 are very wrong (for example, 千, explanation in 象形 cannot explain why two thousands can be written as "人+二").
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-06T08:25:38.083Z
Okay, I'm working on it :D Thank you Stan!
George
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-06T08:30:54.363Z
You're welcome :P (next time you should use @ to let me know).
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-11T04:14:48.790Z
The site you referenced is AWESOME!!!
leesei
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-04T04:26:45.227Z
2017-09-28T13:20:11.997Z
2017-09-28T13:20:11.997Z
George
<p>Wikitionary has an etymology for this character <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%9B%9B">四</a> which says:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The original shell and bone character was 一 written four times, 亖
  (compare 二 and 三). The bronzeware style of the character featured a
  repositioning of those four lines inside 口; this later evolved into
  the combination used today of 口 mouth and 八 divide which meant a
  dispersal of breath. It could thus be said that four is a borrowed
  meaning for this character.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>So you are right, it used to be written with one more horizontal stroke added to 三.</p>

<p>As for <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BA%94">五</a>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>One possibility is that 五 was originally written as five horizontal
  lines, similar to 一, 二, 三, and the obsolete 亖 (four), but in common
  writing the lines would blend together. Thus, two lines were turned
  vertical and the right one was shortened, to form one stroke with the
  middle horizontal line. An alternate hypothesis is that 五 originally
  resembled an X with a bar on top and a bar on bottom, as in . This
  would have meant five because when counting on a single hand, one
  first counts to five and then crosses back the other way to ten.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-04T04:11:17.280Z
Worth noting that when using tally marks to count to 5 Chinese people use the character 正 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tally_marks
going
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-04T02:47:19.480Z
2013-10-04T02:47:19.480Z
杨以轩
<p>This may not be the answer you at searching for, but we uses a number story to help us remember how to write these characters...
一 I took one step,
二 I took two steps,
三 I took three steps,
四 i came to a window with curtains
五 I saw a bench 
六 there was a man doing star jump
七 he fell on his bum
八 he walked with a limp
九 He got worse and had to use a wheelchair 
十 he died, and  was buried in a churchyard. Amen.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-10T17:10:16.660Z
Interesting~~~~
George
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-11T02:48:26.767Z
I laugh at this splendid answer. Thumbs up :)
杨以轩
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-10T16:25:04.923Z
2013-10-10T16:25:04.923Z
Haggis Mc包子
<p>In fact, "sì" (meaning "four") was allowed to be written as 亖 in ancient times. 亖 and 四 were both correct written forms of "sì" (meaning "four"). However, the modern way of writing is always 四 (in common use) or 肆 (in finance), never 亖.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-01T07:22:48.083Z
2013-12-01T23:08:59.673Z
2013-12-01T23:08:59.673Z
Victor
<p>Joke: Similar as the Roman "IV".</p>

<p>Serious Answer:</p>

<p>It's 4 lines at first according to Oracle bine script. But then Chinese ancestor found the relationship of 4 and 2: 4 is Two 2. </p>

<p>And 2 is like 2 lines, 4 is like 4 lines, they merge these 2 characters together. Look like "四" </p>

<p>Same as @Cong 's answer   </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>四: First |||| (four bars), then combines with 二 to avoid ambiguity:
  enter image description here, like being mistaken to be two ||.
  Reference.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-28T20:25:05.697Z
2017-09-28T20:25:05.697Z
Kevman
<p>A common experience of beginner hanzi students is their raised hopes and expectations when they learn 一 二 三 - &quot;what a wonderfully elegant language!&quot; - which are promptly crushed when they encounter 四.</p>
<p>So where did these characters come from anyway? Were they once more elegant and morphed in time? Or were the characters representative of other things?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>一 二 三: horizontal lines, easy!</p>
<p>四: this is kind of like a square I guess, but what's that in the middle?</p>
<p>五: ok this is like 5 strokes, why in this particular shape though?</p>
<p>六 七 八 九: now I have no idea what's going on!</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I apologise if the answers are easily found online; I think the answers would be very interesting and useful to have in one place.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-04T08:03:11.800Z
五 is four strokes.
Dietrich Epp
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-04T10:29:46.320Z
**Why isn't 百 one hundred lines?**
hippietrail
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-07T18:25:40.387Z
Why isn't 4 "IIII" in Roman Numerals？
shuangwhywhy
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-10-07T18:31:46.840Z
You don't have to figure out what's going on. It's even more mysterious to me that Arabic numerals look like "0123456789".
shuangwhywhy
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-02T16:07:29.170Z
arabic looks much more different http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Arabic_numerals-en.svg/500px-Arabic_numerals-en.svg.png
Boris Ivanov
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-29T06:11:33.753Z
The components 儿 in 四 and 西 can be also written to two vertical lines in handwriting and many fonts. Like my family name 賈/贾, the top part is 西, it has four vertical lines.
xenophōn
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-13T17:20:51.733Z
Actually, 五 is NOT 5 strokes--it is 4. If calling it a 5-stroke character helps one remember it, fine, but the 3rd stroke (ㄱ) is a single stroke called 横折 ("straight then turn").
YCode
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-03T17:46:09.710Z
My teacher once (apocryphally) cited a closed fist with hidden thumb as the "image" origin of 四, indicating "all five fingers minus the thumb [ = 4 ]." (Picture a "fist-bump") I don't think there's any substantiation for that claim, but I like the story.
j6m8
<characters><etymology><glyph-origin><history>
Why isn't 四 four lines? (the origin of 一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九)
# Why isn't 四 four lines? (the origin of 一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-10-04)

A common experience of beginner hanzi students is their raised hopes and expectations when they learn 一 二 三 - "what a wonderfully elegant language!" - which are promptly crushed when they encounter 四.

So where did these characters come from anyway? Were they once more elegant and morphed in time? Or were the characters representative of other things?

> 一 二 三: horizontal lines, easy!
>
> 四: this is kind of like a square I guess, but what's that in the middle?
>
> 五: ok this is like 5 strokes, why in this particular shape though?
>
> 六 七 八 九: now I have no idea what's username_12 on!

I apologise if the answers are easily found online; I think the answers would be very interesting and useful to have in one place.

**Tags:** characters, etymology, glyph-origin, history

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 五 is four strokes.  
> **username_2**: **Why isn't 百 one hundred lines?**  
> **username_3**: Why isn't 4 "IIII" in Roman Numerals？  
> **username_3**: You don't have to figure out what's username_12 on. It's even more mysterious to me that Arabic numerals look like "0123456789".  
> **username_4**: arabic looks much more different http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Arabic_numerals-en.svg/500px-Arabic_numerals-en.svg.png  
> **username_5**: The components 儿 in 四 and 西 can be also written to two vertical lines in handwriting and many fonts. Like my family name 賈/贾, the top part is 西, it has four vertical lines.  
> **username_6**: Actually, 五 is NOT 5 strokes--it is 4. If calling it a 5-stroke character helps one remember it, fine, but the 3rd stroke (ㄱ) is a single stroke called 横折 ("straight then turn").  
> **username_7**: My teacher once (apocryphally) cited a closed fist with hidden thumb as the "image" origin of 四, indicating "all five fingers minus the thumb [ = 4 ]." (Picture a "fist-bump") I don't think there's any substantiation for that claim, but I like the story.  

---

## 5 answers

### Answer by username_8 on 2013-10-04. Score: 28

This is an interesting topic; it touches one of the core idea of the Chinese language.

The Chinese language and all its dialects have not been designed by one inventor at one specific day. Instead, they were created and evolved at different regions through thousands of years at least.

Evidences (see below) showed that some of the Chinese characters from four to ten (四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九) evolves as the type of 轉注 (轉注者，建類一首，同意相受。考、老是也。) or 假借 (假借者，本無其字，依聲託事。令、長是也。) instead of 象形 (象形者，畫成其物，隨體詰詘。日、月是也。); and one and ten (一, 十) evolves as the type of 指事 (指事者，視而可識，察而見意。上、下是也。) or 會意 (會意者，比類合宜，以見指撝。武、信是也。) instead of 象形. Any reference, say, 《鐵雲藏龜》by 清 劉鶚 in 1903 (清光緒二十九年), or the one below, can only act as possible explanations at their intellectual best.

# Reference

* 《說文解字》by 漢 許慎.
* 《鐵雲藏龜》by 清 劉鶚 in 1903 (清 光緒二十九年).
* 《白魚解字》by 流沙河 in 2014, ISBN 9787514317329.

# One Possible Explanation

* 一: one bar. May mean the whole, the universe. [Reference](http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3598).
* 二: two bars. May mean the positive and negative. The upper may refer to the heaven, the lower the earth. [Reference](http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3599).
* 三: three bars. The upper may refer to the heaven, the lower the earth, and the middle the human. [Reference](http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3601).
* 四: First |||| (four bars), then combines with 二 to avoid ambiguity: ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/pGU6k.gif), like being mistaken to be two ||. [Reference](http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3602).
* 五: First a 二 with X in between: ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/WKSPL.gif). The two bars are sky and earth, the X being the intersection between them, to mean all positive number greater than four. [Reference](http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3603).
* 六: ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/907Dy.gif)￼, a house with four sides plus roof and ground giving six. [Reference](http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3604).
* 七: Designed originally to be 十 (meaning all number greater than six) with a twist on the bottom: ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/VoFm5.gif). [Reference](http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3605).
* 八: Opposite bracket-like curve ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/q4cAa.gif) meaning "divide", used to be greatest number. See 八卦. [Reference](http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3606).
* 九: Designed originally to be a right arm (![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/EHiLC.gif)) reaching for something. Nine bears a meaning of great, the number of categories for many things. [Reference](http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3607).
* 十: | (a rope overhung) combines with a knot on it: ![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/jF1tR.gif). Using ten to mean "all" may be because of the fact that we have ten fingers. [Reference](http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=3608).

# Another possible explanation

At first, people may invent those most frequently used: one, two, and three, as put by [老子](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi) in 「[道德經](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Te_Ching)」: 道立于一, 一生二, 二生三, 三生萬物. ("The Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three;
Three produced All things." [translated](http://www.sacred-texts.com/tao/taote.htm) by James Legge )

> **Comments:**
> **username_9**: +1 for great answer and reference.  
> **username_0**: Great answer, however I don't really understand the reasoning behind 七,八,九,十; it seems that at some point they were all the biggest number or "great" number, but that doesn't explain why they look like they do. For example, what does the 八 "divide" have anything to do with being the biggest number?  
> **username_8**: Um, I see.. yeah it's not so intuitive as just a bundle of eight bars.. I'll try to update with some more info when I have time.  
> **username_9**: After reading through many entries of your reference [象形字典](http://vividict.com/Default.aspx) site, I have something to criticize: 1. It is a very good reference; 2. But **many explanations on that site are somehow too subjective and so that controversial**. For example, 二 in character [仁](http://vividict.com/WordInfo.aspx?id=1556) is explained as an equal sign! It lacks historical source to support such an opinion, and furthermore, it goes against the "hierarchical society" concept in the confucianism. So, maybe we should accept it only after a more prudent thinking -- 盡信書不如無書.  
> **username_8**: Yes, I agree. Will double check them later :D  
> **username_9**: Hmm, I find in 甲骨文字典(徐中舒) some explanations of the number characters are different. I think it is better to consider 徐's opinion as the  mainstream even the standard. 象形字典 is much less deliberate on the research of archaeology.  
> **username_8**: I agree. What's the page you find, is it [this page](https://i.sstatic.net/VA32P.png)?  
> **username_9**: @congliu **No.** Have you downloaded the whole book? Each number character has their own entry. You can look up them in the 檢字 part of the dictionary (117/1746 of the PDF file). After considering most languages were developed following "first there existed pronunciations and second there existed writing system", I personally think those explanations in 甲骨文字典 are correct, but those in 象形字典 are very wrong (for example, 千, explanation in 象形 cannot explain why two thousands can be written as "人+二").  
> **username_8**: Okay, I'm working on it :D Thank you username_9!  
> **username_9**: You're welcome :P (next time you should use @ to let me know).  
> **username_10**: The site you referenced is AWESOME!!!  
> **username_8**: Hi @username_9,  I've found evidences (see below) that some of the Chinese characters from four to ten (四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九)  evolves as the type of 轉注 (轉注者，建類一首，同意相受。考、老是也。) or 假借 (假借者，本無其字，依聲託事。令、長是也。) instead of 象形 (象形者，畫成其物，隨體詰詘。日、月是也。); and one and ten (一, 十) evolves as the type of 指事 (指事者，視而可識，察而見意。上、下是也。) or 會意 (會意者，比類合宜，以見指撝。武、信是也。) instead of 象形. Any reference, say,《鐵雲藏龜》by 清 劉鶚 in 1903 (清光緒二十九年), or the one below, can only act as possible explanations at their intellectual best.  Reference: 《說文解字》漢 許慎 《白魚解字》by 流沙河 in 2014, ISBN 9787514317329.  Cheers, Cong  

---

### Answer by username_11 on 2013-10-04. Score: 8

Wikitionary has an etymology for this character [四](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%9B%9B) which says:

> The original shell and bone character was 一 written four times, 亖
> (compare 二 and 三). The bronzeware style of the character featured a
> repositioning of those four lines inside 口; this later evolved into
> the combination used today of 口 mouth and 八 divide which meant a
> dispersal of breath. It could thus be said that four is a borrowed
> meaning for this character.

So you are right, it used to be written with one more horizontal stroke added to 三.

As for [五](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BA%94):

> One possibility is that 五 was originally written as five horizontal
> lines, similar to 一, 二, 三, and the obsolete 亖 (four), but in common
> writing the lines would blend together. Thus, two lines were turned
> vertical and the right one was shortened, to form one stroke with the
> middle horizontal line. An alternate hypothesis is that 五 originally
> resembled an X with a bar on top and a bar on bottom, as in . This
> would have meant five because when counting on a single hand, one
> first counts to five and then crosses back the other way to ten.

> **Comments:**
> **username_12**: Worth noting that when using tally marks to count to 5 Chinese people use the character 正 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tally_marks  

---

### Answer by username_13 on 2013-10-10. Score: 3

This may not be the answer you at searching for, but we uses a number story to help us remember how to write these characters...
一 I took one step,
二 I took two steps,
三 I took three steps,
四 i came to a window with curtains
五 I saw a bench
六 there was a man doing star jump
七 he fell on his bum
八 he walked with a limp
九 He got worse and had to use a wheelchair
十 he died, and was buried in a churchyard. Amen.

> **Comments:**
> **username_8**: Interesting~~~~  
> **username_11**: I laugh at this splendid answer. Thumbs up :)  

---

### Answer by username_14 on 2013-12-01. Score: 1

In fact, "sì" (meaning "four") was allowed to be written as 亖 in ancient times. 亖 and 四 were both correct written forms of "sì" (meaning "four"). However, the modern way of writing is always 四 (in common use) or 肆 (in finance), never 亖.


---

### Answer by username_15 on 2017-09-28. Score: 0

Joke: Similar as the Roman "IV".

Serious Answer:

It's 4 lines at first according to Oracle bine script. But then Chinese ancestor found the relationship of 4 and 2: 4 is Two 2.

And 2 is like 2 lines, 4 is like 4 lines, they merge these 2 characters together. Look like "四"

Same as @Cong 's answer

> 四: First |||| (four bars), then combines with 二 to avoid ambiguity:
> enter image description here, like being mistaken to be two ||.
> Reference.


---

