How to say "multiply" in Japanese

• 増えるふえるJLPT N4approx.Common
  ichidan verb, intransitive verbCovers 'multiply' in the sense of growing or increasing in number, as with populations or amounts. It does not mean arithmetical multiplication, so it is not the word for multiplying numbers together.
  ここの交通量こうつうりょうは増ふえた。↗

  The traffic has built up here.
• 乗ずるじょうずるCommon
  ichidan verb (-zuru), transitive verbThe mathematical sense: to multiply one number by another. A formal, written-style verb, common in arithmetic and mathematics contexts, and interchangeable with 乗じる.
• 乗じるじょうじるCommon
  ichidan verb, transitive verbA variant of 乗ずる with the same meaning: to multiply numbers in arithmetic. Either form is fine; the choice is stylistic, and both refer specifically to the mathematical operation.

Use 「増える」 for 'multiply' in the sense of increasing in number; use 「乗ずる」 or 「乗じる」 for mathematical multiplication, where the two are variants of the same verb.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 増えるふえるto increase
• 掛け合わせるかけあわせるto multiply
• 掛け合わすかけあわすto multiply
• 乗ずるじょうずるto multiply
• 乗じるじょうじるto multiply
• かけるto multiply (arithmetic operation)