'增加' is a compound verb meaning 'to increase' or 'to add (something)' — it emphasizes a rise in quantity, degree, or number. The first character 增 (zēng) means 'to increase' on its own and often appears in formal or written contexts; the second character 加 (jiā) means 'to add' and frequently occurs in mathematical or everyday expressions like 加油 (jiā yóu, 'add oil' = 'cheer up') or 加班 (jiā bān, 'add shift' = 'work overtime'). Together, 增加 carries a neutral-to-formal register and is commonly used with nouns indicating measurable things: population, cost, speed, risk, time, or effort.

This word typically follows a subject and precedes the object it affects — for example, '成本增加了' (cost increased) or '我们需要增加练习时间' (we need to increase practice time). It can also take the particle 了 to indicate completed change, or be paired with 很多, 一些, or a specific number to quantify the increase. Unlike the more colloquial 加 (jiā), 增加 is rarely used alone as a command and almost never appears in casual speech without an object or complement.