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Rise, raise, or arise
Rise means go up on its own, raise means lift or increase something, and arise means come up or begin, like a problem.
Quick rule
Goes up by itself? Rise. You lift or increase something? Raise. A problem or question comes up? Arise.
To go up by itself, with no object: the sun rises, prices rose. Irregular: rose, risen.
To lift or increase something: raise your hand, raise prices. It takes an object. Regular: raised.
To come up or begin to exist, usually a problem or chance: if a problem arises. Rather formal. Irregular: arose, arisen.
How to choose
| Question | rise | raise | arise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does an object follow it (___ your hand)? | No | Yes | No |
| Is it about a problem or question coming up? | No | SometimesSometimes | Yes |
Why it trips people up
Rise has no object: things rise by themselves. Raise needs one: you raise something. Arise also has no object, but it means come up or begin, usually a problem or a chance. Rise and arise are irregular; raise is regular.
How they sound
Rise /raɪz/ and raise /reɪz/ differ only in the vowel; arise /əˈraɪz/ adds a weak syllable before rise.
- rise/raɪz/
- raise/reɪz/
- arise/əˈraɪz/
How each one works
Rise
The sun coming up
The sun rose at six this morning.
Increasing: prices, numbers
Prices keep rising.
Moving up: smoke, water
Smoke rose from the chimney.
Raise
Lifting something
Raise your hand if you have a question.
Increasing something
They raised the price of bread.
Bringing up a child
She raised three kids on her own.
Arise
A problem coming up
A problem arose during the meeting.
If something comes up
Call me if any questions arise.
Arise from: result from
Many illnesses arise from stress.
What comes next
rise plus by/to plus amount
Sales rose by 10% this year.
raise plus object
Can you raise the volume a little?
raise plus money/funds
The school raised $2,000 for the trip.
arise plus from
The delay arose from a computer error.
arise, with no object
Some new issues have arisen.
Set phrases
Rise
- rise and shine
- a cheerful way to tell someone to get out of bed
- give rise to
- to cause something to happen or exist
Raise
- raise the bar
- to set a new, higher standard
- raise your eyebrows
- to show that you are surprised or think something is bad
Arise
- when the need arises
- only at the moment it becomes necessary
Almost the same
Prices rose last month.
They went up on their own: no object, rise.
The store raised prices last month.
Someone pushed them up: with an object, raise.
A problem with prices arose last month.
Something came up: arise.
In a conversation
- A:
Did you hear? The rent is rising again.
- B:
Yes, the owner raised it by fifty dollars.
- A:
Should we talk to him?
- B:
Let's wait. If any other problems arise, we'll call him.
Common mistakes
Wrong: Prices have raised again this month.
Right: Prices have risen again this month.
With no object, the verb is rise. Merriam-Webster lists raise without an object as dialect.
Wrong: The issue was arised at the meeting.
Right: The issue was raised at the meeting.
Arise takes no object, so it has no passive (and its past is arose). To say someone mentioned it, use raise.
Memory trick
Check for an object. Lifting something yourself (raise your hand): raise. Going up on its own (the sun rises): rise. Coming up, like a problem: arise.
It depends
- A raise or a rise
- A pay increase is a raise in North American English and a rise in British English, as Oxford notes.
FAQ
Rise or raise: which is correct?
Ask whether there is an object. Raise your hand, raise prices: something is being lifted, so raise. The sun rises, prices rose: nothing is lifted, so rise.
Arise or rise?
Arise means come up or begin, usually a problem or chance: if questions arise. Rise is about going up. Both are irregular: arose, arisen; rose, risen.