ねずみ算

Japanese

Kanji in this term
算
さん > ざん Grade: 2
on’yomi

Alternative forms

• ネズミ算(ざん) (nezumizan), 鼠(ねずみ)算(ざん) (nezumizan)

Etymology

Compound of ねずみ (nezumi, “mouse”) + 算(さん) (san, “mathematics”). The san changes to zan as an instance of rendaku (連濁). Derives from a common word problem in Japan which states that "In January, there is a pair of mice. They copulate and bear twelve children. The next month, 7 pairs of mice copulate and bear twelve children respectively. How many mice are there in December?"

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ne̞zɨᵝmʲizã̠ɴ]

Noun

ねずみ算(ざん) • (nezumizan) 

1. (colloquial) exponential growth

Derived terms

• ねずみ算(ざん)式(しき)に増(ふ)える (nezumizan-shiki ni fueru)