増やす vs 増える: How to Use These Common JLPT N3 Verbs Naturally

Introduction

If you are studying for the JLPT N3, you have probably seen both 増やす (fuyasu / to increase something) and 増える (fueru / to increase, to become more).

At first, they can seem almost identical.

For example:

「勉強時間を増やす。」
Increase your study time.

「勉強時間が増える。」
Your study time increases.

Both sentences are correct, but they describe the situation from different perspectives.

増やす is used when someone intentionally makes a number, amount, or quantity larger.

増える describes the number or amount itself becoming larger.

The key is not simply memorizing two English translations.

Instead, imagine the situation and ask:

“Is someone making it increase?”

or

“Is it simply becoming more?”

Once you start thinking in terms of situations, the difference between 増やす and 増える becomes much easier to understand.

Start with a Real-Life Situation

Imagine that you feel you are not getting enough exercise.

You currently walk for 30 minutes every day, but you decide that from next month you will walk for one hour.

You can say:

「歩く時間を増やしたい。」
I want to increase the amount of time I spend walking.

Here, you are intentionally changing your schedule.

You are making the amount of walking time greater, so 増やす is natural.

Now imagine something different.

Your job becomes busier, and without planning it, you start working overtime more often.

You might say:

「最近、残業時間が増えた。」
Recently, my overtime hours have increased.

You did not necessarily decide to increase your overtime.

The amount of overtime simply became greater because of the situation.

That is why 増える is natural.

A useful basic image is:

「増やす」 = someone makes something greater

「増える」 = something becomes greater

Situation 1: Using 増やす and 増える in Everyday Conversation

Both 増やす and 増える are very common in everyday Japanese.

The important question is not which one sounds more conversational.

Instead, think about who or what causes the change.

For example:

A：「最近、運動してる？」
Have you been exercising recently?

B：「あまりしてないから、来月から運動する時間を増やそうと思ってる。」
Not much, so I'm thinking of increasing the amount of time I exercise starting next month.

The speaker is deliberately planning to exercise more.

Therefore, 増やす is used.

Now compare this conversation:

A：「最近、忙しそうだね。」
You seem busy lately.

B：「うん。仕事が増えて、帰るのが遅くなった。」
Yeah. I've got more work now, so I've been getting home later.

Here, 仕事 (shigoto / work) itself has increased.

The speaker is describing a change in the situation, so 増える is natural.

It is also useful to notice the particles:

「○○を増やす」
to increase ○○

「○○が増える」
○○ increases

For JLPT learners, paying attention to を and が can give you an important clue.

Situation 2: Using Them in Articles, News, and Formal Writing

増やす and 増える also appear frequently in news reports, explanatory texts, business writing, and JLPT reading passages.

Consider this sentence:

「政府は外国人観光客を増やすため、新しい政策を発表した。」
The government announced a new policy in order to increase the number of foreign tourists.

The government is actively trying to make the number of tourists larger.

There is a deliberate action, so 増やす is used.

Now compare:

「この地域では外国人観光客が年々増えている。」
The number of foreign tourists in this area has been increasing year by year.

Here, the sentence describes a trend.

The number of tourists is becoming larger, so 増える is used.

You may even see both verbs in the same paragraph:

「観光客を増やすための政策によって、実際に観光客が増えた。」
As a result of policies designed to increase the number of tourists, the number of tourists actually increased.

The first verb, 増やす, describes the goal or action.

The second verb, 増える, describes the resulting change.

This pattern is especially important in JLPT reading.

増やす often points toward an action, policy, plan, or purpose.

増える often points toward a result, trend, or change.

Situation 3: When Feelings, Opinions, or Evaluations Are Involved

Neither 増やす nor 増える is an emotional word by itself.

However, the difference becomes clearer when the sentence contains intentions, opinions, or feelings.

For example:

「もっと貯金を増やしたい。」
I want to increase my savings.

The expression 増やしたい shows the speaker's intention.

The speaker wants to actively make their savings larger.

Now consider:

「最近、出費が増えて困っている。」
My expenses have increased recently, and it's causing me problems.

Here, 出費 (shuppi / expenses) has increased.

The speaker is unhappy about the result, but they did not necessarily intend to increase their expenses.

This leads to a useful tendency:

増やす is often used with plans, goals, efforts, measures, and intentions.

増える is often used to describe changes, trends, situations, and results.

However, do not memorize this as a strict rule such as “増やす is subjective” and “増える is objective.”

The fundamental difference is still this:

Did someone make the quantity larger?

Or did the quantity itself become larger?

The Difference Between 増やす and 増える

Here is the main distinction to remember.

「増やす」 (fuyasu / to increase something)

• Someone makes a number or amount larger.
• It often appears in the pattern 「○○を増やす」.
• It is commonly used with intentions, plans, efforts, strategies, and policies.
• It focuses on the action of making something greater.

「増える」 (fueru / to increase, to become more)

• A number or amount becomes larger.
• It often appears in the pattern 「○○が増える」.
• It is commonly used to describe changes, results, and trends.
• The person or cause responsible for the change does not have to be stated.

A simple way to remember the difference is:

「人が増やす。数が増える。」
A person increases something. A number increases.

Check with Example Sentences

1. 毎日、日本語を勉強する時間を増やしました。

I increased the amount of time I study Japanese every day.

The speaker intentionally changed their study schedule.

Because someone actively makes the study time greater, 増やす is natural.

2. 最近、日本語を勉強する時間が増えました。

Recently, the amount of time I spend studying Japanese has increased.

This sentence focuses on the change itself.

The reason for the increase is not necessarily important.

That is why 増える is used.

3. 会社は海外で働く社員を増やす予定です。

The company plans to increase the number of employees working overseas.

The company is intentionally trying to make the number of employees larger.

This kind of 増やす is common in business Japanese and news reports.

4. この町では外国人住民が増えています。

The number of foreign residents in this town is increasing.

The sentence describes a change in population.

Because the number itself is becoming larger, 増える is natural.

5. 健康のために、野菜を食べる回数を増やしたほうがいいですよ。

For your health, you should increase the number of times you eat vegetables.

This is advice encouraging someone to deliberately change their habits.

Therefore, 増やす is used.

6. 年齢とともに、健康について考える機会が増えました。

As I have gotten older, I have had more opportunities to think about my health.

The number of opportunities has naturally become greater over time.

増える is therefore the natural choice.

7. 売り上げを増やすために、新しい商品を開発しました。

We developed a new product in order to increase sales.

The company is taking action with the goal of making sales larger.

The pattern 「○○を増やすために」 is particularly common in explanatory and business writing.

8. 新しい商品が人気になり、会社の売り上げが増えました。

The new product became popular, and the company's sales increased.

Here, increased sales are the result.

The sentence focuses on what happened rather than on someone's intention to increase sales.

That is why 増える is used.

How to Read 増やす and 増える on the JLPT

When you see 増やす or 増える in a JLPT reading passage, do not stop at the English translation “increase.”

Look at the grammar and context.

For example:

「利用者を増やす」
to increase the number of users

Someone is trying to make the number of users larger.

Compare that with:

「利用者が増える」
the number of users increases

The number of users itself becomes greater.

Then look at the sentences around the expression.

For example:

「利用者を増やすために、料金を安くした。」
They lowered the price in order to increase the number of users.

Here, 「利用者を増やす」 describes a purpose.

Then you might read:

「その結果、若い利用者が増えた。」
As a result, the number of young users increased.

Here, 「利用者が増えた」 describes the result.

This structure is very common:

purpose or action → 増やす

result or change → 増える

In JLPT reading questions, identifying this relationship can help you understand cause and effect, the writer's intention, and the overall structure of the passage.

Instead of looking at one vocabulary item in isolation, ask:

“Who is trying to change something?”

“What actually changed?”

“Is this a goal, action, trend, or result?”

These questions will help you understand Japanese more naturally.

Summary

増やす and 増える are both related to an increase in number or quantity, but they describe that increase from different perspectives.

Use 「増やす」 when someone intentionally makes something greater.

Use 「増える」 when something becomes greater.

Remember these patterns:

• 「○○を増やす」 = someone increases ○○
• 「○○が増える」 = ○○ increases

And remember this simple image:

「人が増やす。数が増える。」
A person increases something. A number increases.

For the JLPT, knowing a dictionary meaning is only the first step.

To choose the right answer in vocabulary and reading questions, you need to recognize how words behave in real sentences and real situations.

RJT (Rapid Japanese Training) helps you practice Japanese vocabulary and grammar through JLPT-style questions, so you can develop the ability to choose the natural expression from context rather than relying only on memorized translations.

Practice Japanese in context and strengthen your JLPT skills with RJT:

https://rapid-jt.com/