Comparing "zengjia" and "zengzhang"

This page is part of a "Increase, Decrease" series on mastering all of the Chinese words related to these English terms. These words are especially helpful in discussing business at an upper intermediate (B2) level.

This part focuses on the related words 增加 (zēngjiā) and 增长 (zēngzhǎng).

B2HSK6ASV4567

	增加 (zēngjiā)	增长 (zēngzhǎng)
Meaning	to add, to increase	to grow, to increase
Part of Speech	verb	verb
Formality	flexible	flexible

:Yes

Structures for 增加

增加 means “to increase” actively by a certain quantity.

Subj. + 增加 + Obj.

Subj. + 增加

Common Phrases

• 增加风险
• 增加困难
• 增加麻烦
• 增加了两厘米
• 增加了2度

Example Sentences

• 今年的 全球 气温 增加 了 两 度。 Jīnnián de quánqiú qìwēn zēngjiā le liǎng dù.Global temperatures have increased by two degrees this year.
• 我们 公司的 投资 又 增加 了 三 千 万。 Wǒmen gōngsī de tóuzī yòu zēngjiā le sān qiān wàn.Our company's investment has increased by another 30 million.
• 不能 这样 做，这样 做 只 会 增加 风险。 Bù néng zhèyàng zuò, zhèyàng zuò zhǐ huì zēngjiā fēngxiǎn .You can't do this, it just increases the risk.

Structures for 增长

增长 means “to grow” (not necessarily by a specific quantity). 增长 is normally an intransitive verb , meaning it does not usually take objects .

Subj. + 增长

When used as an intransitive verb, 增长 can often be replaced by 增加.

Example Sentences

• 我们 销售部 今年的 业绩 增长 了 50%。 Wǒmen xiāoshòu bù jīnnián de yèjì zēngzhǎng le bǎifēnzhī wǔshí.Our sales department has grown 50% this year.
• 我们 计划 下 个 季度的 销售额 增长 一 倍。 Wǒmen jìhuà xià gè jìdù de xiāoshòué zēngzhǎng yī bèi.We plan to double our sales next quarter.
• 做 了 网络 推广 以后,我们的 销量 增长 了。 Zuò le wǎngluò tuīguǎng yǐhòu, wǒmen de xiāoliàng zēngzhǎng le.After doing network promotion, our sales have increased.
• 为什么 我们 降低 成本 以后，利润 没有 增长？ Wèishénme wǒmen jiàngdī chéngběn yǐhòu, lìrùn méiyǒu zēngzhǎng ?Why didn't profits grow when we cut costs?

Word Similarities and Differences