The viral ‘He’s a 10 but…’ TikTok trend explained

The game, which has players ranking an imaginary partner by specific traits, has gone viral online

He’s a ten, but he takes a week to respond to your texts. She’s an eight, but she’s obsessed with cats. A new trend has emerged online where people rate an imaginary partner based on super specific character traits, and the internet can’t get enough of it.

This month, the “He’s a 10, but…” trend began circulating throughout TikTok, where it racked up millions of views under the hashtag #hesa10but before making its way to the number one trending topic on Twitter on Tuesday. If you were unaware of this viral trend, here’s how to play.

The game works best when there are two or more people. One player begins by ranking an imaginary partner’s attractiveness on a scale of one to 10, and ends with adding an oddly specific trait or behaviour of that person, like running for the bus or having a Gemini zodiac sign (instant four). The idea is that the specific trait provided will impact the initial number so the other player has to assess, based on the data given, what new number that imaginary partner deserves.

Like every TikTok trend, people have been creating some pretty hilarious versions of their own “He’s a 10, but” rankings, and everyone from influencers to regular TikTokers have been taking part in the trend.

In a “He’s a 10, but” video shared by The Bachelor alum Serena Pitt, she was adamant that a man who’s a four but has a lake house is immediately a 12. For TikToker Kyyah Abdul, if he’s a three but your family is in love with him, he’s bumped up to an eight.

He’s a six but he has good style

A good fashion sense is a game changer, especially for these women who believe it can bump a man up to an eight or even a ten. But if he wears Sperry boat shoes and posts selfies on social media, that’s a no-go. Men, take notes.

He’s a six but he has really nice bedding

In this video posted by TikToker @billlnai, having a proper set of sheets can take a man from a six to a ten. But make sure he flosses his teeth, because if not it’s an instant zero for these girls.

He’s a five but he communicates his emotions in a mature and respectful way

If he communicates his emotions effectively? That’s a ten. The trend can end here because we’ve found a clear winner.

But it’s not just women having all the fun. Some men have gone viral for their “She’s a 10, but” creations too. TikToker @joshgarlepp filmed a parody of the trend, in which he and a friend made up ridiculous traits for a woman like, like hitting someone with her car, and still giving her a ten.

One girl filmed herself playing the “He’s a 10, but” game with her friend in the pool, although every specific trait was of the character Nick Parker from The Parent Trap, using suggestions like, “He’s a four, but he owns a vineyard” and “He’s a ten, but he has twin daughters”. It didn’t take long for her friend to catch on.

Perhaps the best result of any viral trend is when the parents get involved. Although, this mom had some difficulty figuring out exactly how to play the “He’s a 10, but” game. When her son tried to explain the rules of the trend, she didn’t quite understand how to play. But in true mom fashion, she gave her offspring a rating: “I gave birth to you. You’re off the charts.”

TikTok is known for producing some of the internet’s most viral trends. Earlier this week, a new quiz that claimed to reveal what type of “human feeling” you are took over the app. The quiz, which comes from a Russian website called Uquiz, has millions of users sharing their results for what kind of human feeling they are.