What is the Kanji for "Increase"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Increase", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Increase" is "増".

This kanji has 3 readings:

Its kunyomi readings are "Ma" and "Fu".

Its onyomi reading is "Zou".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The kanji "土" means "Soil" and can be read as "Tsuchi", "To", and "Do". And The kanji "曽" means "Ever", "Once", and "Ex-" and can be read as "Zou", "Sou", "So", "Katsu", "Sunawachi", and "Katsute".

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "増" mean in japanese?

"増" means "Increase".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Fifth Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N3 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

増える: "Increase". The Japanese verb '増える (ふえる)' means 'to increase'. This verb is used to describe a quantity or number becoming larger over time. It can be used for various things like population, sales, prices, etc. For example: The number of people increased - (人が増えた). Prices have increased - (値段が増えた).

増加: "Increase". The verbal noun '増加 (ぞうか)' means 'increase'. This term is used to describe the process of becoming greater in size, number, or amount. It can be applied to various contexts, such as population growth, economic expansion, or the rise in prices. For example: The population of the city increased - (その街の人口が増加した). There has been a steady increase in sales over the past year - (過去1年間、売上が着実に増加した).

急増: "Soar". The Japanese verbal noun '急増 (きゅうぞう)' means 'to soar'. This term is used to describe a rapid and significant increase in something, such as a population, sales, prices, etc. It suggests a sharp, unexpected rise that happens quickly. For example: The company's profits soared last quarter - (同社の利益は前四半期に急増しました). Unemployment rates soared during the recession - (不景気の際に失業率が急増した).

増す: "Increase". The Japanese verb '増す (ます)' means 'to increase'. It is used to describe a quantity or state that becomes larger or greater over time. This verb can be used with both concrete and abstract concepts. For example: The population is increasing - (人口が増す). Sales have increased this year - (今年の売上が増しています).

増やす: "Increase". The Japanese verb '増やす (ふやす)' means 'to increase'. This verb is used to indicate that the quantity, number, or amount of something is being made greater. It can be used with a variety of subjects, such as objects, money, or people. For example: I will increase the number of books - (本の数を増やします). The company increased its profits - (会社は利益を増やした).

増し: "Increase". The adjectival noun '増し (まし)' means 'increase'. It is used to express the idea of something becoming more or greater in amount, size, or degree. This word can be attached to other adjectives or nouns to intensify their meaning, such as: 高まし (higher/more), 多まし (more). For example: The price has increased - (値段が増しだ). More expensive - (高まし)

増大: "Increase". The verbal noun '増大 (ぞうだい)' means 'increase'. This word is used to express the idea of something becoming larger or growing in size, amount or degree. It can be used to describe the growth of a population, the expansion of a business, or the escalation of a conflict. For example: The population has seen a rapid increase - (人口が急速に増大している). The company's profits increased significantly - (同社の利益は著しく増大した).

増減: "Increase/decrease". The verbal noun '増減 (ぞうげん)' refers to the action or process of increasing or decreasing in amount or number. It can be used to describe changes in various metrics or quantities, such as population, sales, or production levels. For example: The population increase and decrease - (人口の増減). The store saw a decrease in sales - (店の売上が減った).

増殖: "Growth" or "Multiplication". The Japanese noun '増殖 (ぞうしょく)' means 'growth' or 'multiplication'. It refers to the process of rapid expansion or reproduction, often in the context of biological or technological systems. For example: Bacterial growth and multiplication - (細菌の増殖). The rapid increase in population - (人口の増殖)

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "ぞ" is read as "zo". The hiragana "う" is read as "u". The hiragana "ま" is read as "ma". And The hiragana "ふ" is read as "fu".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.