How to Learn the Times Tables Fast
Level 1 Times tables · Reviewed by The NumThink editorial team · Last reviewed
This page is part of the NumThink Times tables course. Read why the method works, watch it run on worked examples, then drill it in the practice box below until it feels automatic.
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Order does not matter in multiplication: 3 × 8 and 8 × 3 are the same fact. That alone turns the 121 facts from 2 × 2 to 12 × 12 into 66.
Five tables follow simple rules (×2 double, ×5 half of ×10, ×9 ten times minus once, ×10 add a zero, ×11 ten times plus once, which repeats the digit up to 9 × 11). Take those out and only 21 facts are left — the ones made from 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 12.
Every fact can be rebuilt from a neighbor: 6 × 7 = 5 × 7 + 7. A fact you can rebuild in two seconds is hard to lose — and rebuilding it a few times is exactly how it becomes automatic.
The steps
- Swap to the order you know. Know 3 × 8 = 24? Then you already know 8 × 3 = 24.
- Clear the pattern tables. ×2 double · ×5 half of ×10 · ×9 is ×10 minus once · ×10 add a zero · ×11 repeat the digit (7 × 11 = 77).
- Build the rest from an anchor. 7 × 8: 7 × 4 = 28, doubled is 56.
- Practice mixed, not in order. Reciting 7, 14, 21… trains counting. Mixed questions train instant recall.
Worked examples
Easy 6 × 5
Show the thinking
6 × 10 = 60
Half of 60 is 30
So 6 × 5 = 30.
Answer: 30
Medium 6 × 7
Show the thinking
Start from 5 × 7 = 35
One more 7: 35 + 7 = 42
So 6 × 7 = 42.
Answer: 42
Hard 8 × 12
Show the thinking
8 × 10 = 80
8 × 2 = 16
80 + 16 = 96
So 8 × 12 = 96.
Answer: 96
When to use it
- When learning the tables from scratch — or patching the few facts that still slow you down.
- Whenever a fact will not come: rebuild it from its neighbor instead of guessing.
When NOT to use it
- Once a fact is automatic, just recall it — rebuilding is a bridge, not the destination.
- Chanting a table in order as your main practice: it trains starting from the beginning, not jumping straight to 7 × 8.