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Four strokes and a cross.
Also known as: Hash marks, Counting strokes, Five-bar gate
The notation counting in small groups of strokes, the fifth crossing the previous four.
Counts by strokes, with every fifth stroke crossing the previous four to form a countable group.
Contexts: History
Groups by five because a row of undifferentiated strokes cannot be counted reliably at a glance, and five is about the largest group the eye takes in without counting.
Contexts: History
The East Asian equivalent builds the character for 'correct' in five strokes instead, which counts to the same base by an entirely different device.
Contexts: History
Four vertical strokes with a fifth drawn diagonally across them, repeated in groups along a line.