増加をする

Grammatically, this is a "Suru-verb," which is a fancy way of saying we take a noun (増加 - increase) and slap a verb (をする - to do) on the end to make it move. Most people drop the を in casual writing and just say 増加する, but keeping the を adds a layer of deliberate emphasis on the noun itself. You use it with things you can count: people, money, percentages, or data points. For example, if you're talking about your TikTok followers, you'd say フォロワーが増加をした if you were writing a serious blog post about social media growth. It usually follows a subject marked by が. Just remember, this isn't for physical size. Don't use it for your waistline after a holiday trip—unless you're treating your weight like a national economic crisis. If you do use it correctly, you'll sound like you've been reading the *Nikkei Shimbun* for breakfast. It’s the kind of phrase that makes people sit up a little straighter when you speak.

You’ll see this phrase all over the place once you start looking. Imagine you're watching a Netflix documentary about the environment; the narrator will definitely say 二酸化炭素が増加をした (Carbon dioxide has increased). Or, if you're checking your banking app and see a notification about interest rates, 金利が増加をした might pop up. In a Zoom job interview, you might brag that 売上を30％増加をさせた (I made sales increase by 30%) to sound like a total pro. Even in gaming, if a patch note says "Attack power increased," they might use 攻撃力が増加した to keep it technical. It’s the language of the internet, the news, and the office. If you're texting a friend about your coffee consumption, it might be a bit much, but if you're posting a LinkedIn update about your productivity, it's the perfect fit. It’s also great for sounding dramatic about your library late fees.

Use this phrase when you want to sound objective and professional. It’s perfect for school essays, business reports, or when you’re trying to impress someone with your vocabulary. If you’re discussing the number of tourists in Tokyo or the rise of AI usage, 増加をする is your best friend. It’s especially useful in the context of "trends." If something has been going up steadily over time, this phrase captures that movement perfectly. Think of it as the "professional filter" for your Japanese. Use it on social media when you want to sound like an "influencer" talking about analytics rather than just a person happy about likes. It’s also the standard for scientific observations. If you’re measuring the growth of bacteria in a lab (hopefully not in your fridge), this is the word you need. It’s for the moments when facts and figures matter more than feelings.

Whatever you do, don't use this for physical dimensions. If your cat is getting chunky, don't say 猫が増加をした—that sounds like you suddenly have *more* cats, not one fat one! Use 大きくなった (got bigger) or 太った (got fat) instead. Also, avoid using it for abstract emotions that don't have a number attached. You can't really "increase" your sadness or your excitement with this word because you can't put them on a chart easily (unless you're a very dedicated journaler). Another big no-no is using it for volume, like your TV. If the neighbors are too loud, don't say their sound is 増加; say it's うるさくなった (got loud). It’s also way too stiff for a first date. If you tell your date your affection for them is 増加をしている, they might think you’re about to fire them or offer them a promotion. Keep it for the spreadsheets, not the heart.

One of the biggest traps for learners is mixing up 増加 (Zouka) with 増量 (Zouryou). 増量 is for the *amount* or *weight* of a specific item, like "20% more chips in the bag!" while 増加 is for the *number* of items.

Another mistake is forgetting that 増加 is often intransitive. If *you* are the one doing the increasing (like increasing your savings), you should technically say 増加させる (to make something increase) or 増やす (to increase something). Using 増加をする can sometimes sound like the increase is just happening by itself, which might make you sound less like the boss of your own life.

If 増加をする feels a bit too formal, you have plenty of other options. The most common one is 増える (fueru). This is the all-purpose "to increase" that works for everything from your laundry pile to your friend group. Then there’s 上昇する (joushou suru), which means "to rise." This is great for temperatures, stock prices, or anything that moves "up" on a vertical axis. For a sudden, massive spike, use 急増する (kyuuzou suru)—this is what happens when a meme goes viral. If you’re talking about something expanding in scale, like a business opening new branches, try 拡大する (kakudai suru). And if you just want to say something was added to a total, 加算する (kasan suru) is the way to go. Each of these has a slightly different flavor, like different types of hot sauce. 増加 is the classic, reliable mild sauce that works on almost anything technical.

You’ll often see 増加 paired with other kanji to specify *how* things are increasing. 急増加 (kyuuzouka) means a sudden surge, while 微増 (bizou) means a tiny, teeny-weeny increase. If you see 増加傾向 (zouka keikou), it means there is an "increasing trend," which is a very popular phrase in news reports. You might also encounter 自然増 (shizen-zou), which refers to a natural increase (like birth rates). In business, you'll hear 前年比増加 (zennen-hi zouka), meaning an increase compared to the previous year. If you want to talk about *making* something increase, you change the verb to 増加させる (zouka saseru). This is the version you use when you're the hero who made the company money. Learning these variations is like unlocking the expansion pack for the basic word; it gives you way more power to describe the world precisely.

Is 増加 always formal? Mostly, yes. You won't hear it much in anime unless it's a sci-fi show or a detective explaining a crime. Can I use it for my age? No, for age we use 年をとる (to take on years). 増加 sounds like you're a population, not a person. What’s the opposite? The opposite is 減少をする (genshou wo suru), which means to decrease. They are like two sides of the same coin. Can I use it for followers on Instagram? Absolutely! It’s the perfect word for your "link in bio" business updates. Does it need を? Not really. 増加する is more common, but 増加をする is technically fine and slightly more emphatic about the noun itself. It’s like the difference between "to run" and "to do a run."