漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements
増: increase, add
Also: augment, gain, promote
JLPT N314 strokesGrade 5Your ink: 白 Not met
土 carries the meaning · 曽 gives the sound
14 strokes
Four readings, and the words that use each
ゾウzou · on'yomi · in compounds
- 増加するぞうかするincrease in number [v.i.]
- 増大するぞうだいするincrease in size [v.i.]
- 増減するぞうげんするincrease and decrease [v.i.]
- 増税するぞうぜいするraise taxes
- 急増するきゅうぞうするincrease rapidly
- 倍増するばいぞうするdouble [v.i., v.t.]
ますmasu · kun'yomi · on its own
- 増すますincrease [v.i., v.t.]
ふえるfueru · kun'yomi
- 増えるふえるincrease [v.i.]
ふやすfuyasu · kun'yomi
- 増やすふやすincrease [v.t.]
Also read まし, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
成り立ち
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Phono-semantic compound (形聲)土 earth (meaning) + 曾 (sound)
Things grow in the earth, to build from earth.
Source: Wiktionary, 增 (rev. 90908218), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Imagine a cross planted firmly in the ground—that's 土! It shows a stake or a seedling marking the earth, reminding us of farming, construction, and the solid foundation upon which we build our lives and cities.”
繋がり
Connections
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
曽
Also built on formerly (曽)
増 takes the 曽 family's reading, ソウ (sou).
Also read ゾウ
11 kanji share this on'yomiEasy to confuse
The difference, side by side増 increase · 土
vs層 stratum · 尸In ChineseA Japanese form · Chinese writes 增 · zēng
増 is a Japanese simplification. Chinese writes 增 in both simplified and traditional script.
- Simplified
- 增 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 增 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin zēng most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.
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