How to Learn Times Tables

Knowing the times tables by heart makes everything else in math faster — division, fractions, percentages and every mental-arithmetic shortcut lean on them. The good news is that you don't have to grind through 144 facts. Most of them come free.

Which times tables facts are actually hard?

The 12 × 12 grid holds 144 facts, but a × b = b × a halves it, and the 1s, 2s, 5s, 10s and 9s follow patterns. About six facts remain, 6 × 6, 6 × 7, 6 × 8, 7 × 7, 7 × 8 and 7 × 9, and those need memorizing.

Start with the full 144 and take away everything that isn't really memorization:

• ×1 and ×10 are rules, not facts. That's 36 gone.
• ×2 is doubling, which almost everyone can already do. And ×5 and ×9 have patterns so strong they barely need learning (below).
• Every fact has a twin. 3 × 8 and 8 × 3 are the same fact. That halves whatever is left.

What survives is a small core — roughly 6×7, 6×8, 7×8, 7×9, 6×6 and 7×7. If you are going to spend attention anywhere, spend it there. They are highlighted in the grid below.

The tricks worth knowing, table by table

×9 — on your fingers

Hold up ten fingers. For 9 × 4, fold down the 4th finger: 3 fingers to the left (30) and 6 to the right $\left(6\right)\to$(6) → 36.

×5 — halve, then ×10

$5\times 8\to$5 × 8 → half of 8 is $4\to$4 → 40. Every answer ends in 0 or 5.

×4 — double, then double again

$4\times 7\to 14\to$4 × 7 → 14 → 28. Similarly ×8 is double, double, double.

×11 — repeat the digit

For single digits, just double it up: 11 × 7 = 77. For two digits, add the digits and drop the sum in the middle: $11\times 23\to 2\left(2+3\right)3\to$11 × 23 → 2 (2+3) 3 → 253.

×3 — double it, then add one more

$3\times 7\to$3 × 7 → double 7 is 14, plus $7\to$7 → 21. Useful while the 3s are still settling.

×6 — the ×5 you already know, plus one more

$6\times 7\to 5\times 7=35$6 × 7 → 5 × 7 = 35, plus $7\to$7 → 42. This is the fastest route into the hard middle of the grid, because the 5s are easy.

What does the times-table grid show?

The grid holds every fact from 3 to 9, and it is symmetric: 4 times 6 and 6 times 4 name the same rectangle turned on its side, so learning one fact learns two. That symmetry halves the grid down to the facts worth memorizing.

A useful one to hold on to: 56 = 7 × 8 reads as 5, 6, 7, 8.

How do you practice times tables so they stick?

Practice the times tables in mixed order, five minutes a day, and let each fact come back less often when you get it right and sooner when you miss it. Reciting a table in sequence builds a chain; answering 3 × 7 cold builds recall.

Mix the order

Reciting "3, 6, 9, 12…" builds a chain, not recall. Asked 3 × 7 cold, a chain-learner counts from the start. Mixed questions force real retrieval, which is the thing that strengthens memory.

Short and daily

Five minutes a day beats an hour on Sunday. A fact strengthens each time you pull it out of memory, so ten retrievals spread over ten days is worth far more than fifty in one sitting.

Let the gap grow

Facts you get right should come back less often; facts you miss should come back sooner. That is spaced repetition, and it is why a good practice app beats a paper worksheet — the worksheet asks everything equally, whether you needed it or not.

Chase speed only after accuracy

Timing a fact that isn't secure teaches guessing. Get it right reliably first, then let it get quick — which it will, on its own.

What does a four-week times tables plan look like?

Week 1 is the ×1, ×2, ×5 and ×10 tables and a five-minute daily habit; week 2 adds ×9 and ×3; week 3 adds ×4 and ×8 by doubling; week 4 is the six hard facts alone, with every earlier table kept in the mix.

• Week 1: the free ones — ×1, ×2, ×5, ×10. Establish the daily habit, five minutes.
• Week 2: ×9 (fingers) and ×3 (double and add one more). Keep mixing week 1 in.
• Week 3: ×4 and ×8 by doubling. Everything from weeks 1-2 stays in the mix.
• Week 4: the hard core — 6×6, 6×7, 6×8, 7×7, 7×8, 7×9. Six facts, one week, plenty of time.

Practice by swiping

Math Challenge turns this into a quick swipe game: mixed-order questions, difficulty that adapts to what you keep missing, and the harder facts coming round more often — exactly the schedule above, without you having to run it. The Daily Challenge is free and needs no account. Related guides: Arithmetic Methods, Division and 36 Math Tricks and Number Shortcuts, and Why Each One Works.

Once recall is automatic, the shortcuts in mental math tricks are the natural next step — nearly all of them assume the tables are instant.