Quick Answer:
Result: $3 \times 1 = 3$ through $3 \times 10 = 30$
Notation: $3 \times n$, read "three times $n$"
Method shown: Repeated addition, skip-counting, digit-sum check
Pattern: Last digits cycle 3, 6, 9, 2, 5, 8, 1, 4, 7, 0
Extended: continues $3 \times 11 = 33$ … $3 \times 20 = 60$
Multiplication Table of 3
The full 3 times table sits in two short blocks: the core facts up to ten, then the extension to twenty.
Table of 3 up to 10
Multiplication | Product |
|---|---|
$3 \times 1$ | 3 |
$3 \times 2$ | 6 |
$3 \times 3$ | 9 |
$3 \times 4$ | 12 |
$3 \times 5$ | 15 |
$3 \times 6$ | 18 |
$3 \times 7$ | 21 |
$3 \times 8$ | 24 |
$3 \times 9$ | 27 |
$3 \times 10$ | 30 |
Table of 3 up to 20
Multiplication | Product |
|---|---|
$3 \times 11$ | 33 |
$3 \times 12$ | 36 |
$3 \times 13$ | 39 |
$3 \times 14$ | 42 |
$3 \times 15$ | 45 |
$3 \times 16$ | 48 |
$3 \times 17$ | 51 |
$3 \times 18$ | 54 |
$3 \times 19$ | 57 |
$3 \times 20$ | 60 |
Table of 3 in Words
Said aloud, the table reads:
One times 3 is 3
Two times 3 is 6
Three times 3 is 9
Four times 3 is 12
Five times 3 is 15
Six times 3 is 18
Seven times 3 is 21
Eight times 3 is 24
Nine times 3 is 27
Ten times 3 is 30
What Is The 3 Times Table?
The 3 times table is what you get by multiplying 3 by each whole number, and multiplying by 3 is repeated addition of 3. Writing $3 \times 4$ is shorthand for adding 3 four times, and the answer builds one step at a time:
$$3,; 3+3 = 6,; 3+3+3 = 9,; 3+3+3+3 = 12$$
Said another way, $3 \times 4$ is "four groups of three" — picture four bags with three marbles each, and you count twelve. The picture and the arithmetic agree, which is the whole point of learning what the symbols mean before speeding them up.
Multiples of 3
The products in the table are the multiples of 3. The first twelve are:
$$3,; 6,; 9,; 12,; 15,; 18,; 21,; 24,; 27,; 30,; 33,; 36$$
Every entry in the table is a multiple of 3. A number is a multiple of 3 exactly when its digits add to a multiple of 3 — which is the divisibility-by-3 rule, hiding inside the table.
Tips and Tricks to Memorize the 3 Times Table
Add 3 to the 2 times table. Since $3 \times n = (2 \times n) + n$, take the matching 2s fact and add one more group: $3 \times 7 = (2 \times 7) + 7 = 14 + 7 = 21$.
Use the digit-sum check. In every product, the digits add to a multiple of 3 — $3 \times 7 = 21$ and $2 + 1 = 3$. It is a check you can run on any answer.
Skip-count in threes. Say 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and keep going; each step adds one more 3.
Build from a neighbour. Forgotten $3 \times 7$? Take $3 \times 6 = 18$ and add one more 3 to get 21.
The 3 times table is the first one without an "ends in 0 or 5" shortcut, so it is where rote memory starts to wobble. The digit-sum check rescues it, turning "did I remember right?" into something a child can actually test.
How to Read and Use the 3 Times Table
Read a row left to right: in $3 \times 7 = 21$, the 3 is the number you are counting in, the 7 is how many groups, and 21 is the total. To learn it, chant the products in order while skip-counting, then test yourself out of order — that is where memory really gets tested. If a fact slips, rebuild it from the one before and confirm with the digit-sum check.
Where the 3 Times Table Appears
Threes show up wherever things come in trios — a triangle has 3 sides, a traffic light has 3 colours, and a waltz counts one-two-three. The table also underwrites the divisibility-by-3 rule used to simplify fractions and spot factors quickly: a number splits evenly by 3 exactly when its digits add to a multiple of 3.
Solved Examples
Example 1
Find $3 \times 4$ using repeated addition.
$$3 \times 4 = 3+3+3+3$$ $$= 12$$
Final answer: $3 \times 4 = 12$.
Example 2
A tricycle has 3 wheels. How many wheels on 8 tricycles?
A quick instinct is to reach for the 2 times table out of habit and write $2 \times 8 = 16$ — but a tricycle has three wheels, not two.
This is $3 \times 8$. Build it from the 2s: $3 \times 8 = (2 \times 8) + 8 = 16 + 8$.
$$3 \times 8 = 24$$
Final answer: 24 wheels.
Example 3
What is $3 \times 13$?
Split 13 into 10 and 3.
$$3 \times 10 = 30$$ $$3 \times 3 = 9$$ $$30 + 9 = 39$$
Final answer: $3 \times 13 = 39$.
Example 4
Check whether 42 is in the 3 times table.
Use the digit-sum: $4 + 2 = 6$, which is a multiple of 3, so 42 is a multiple of 3.
$$3 \times 14 = 42$$
Final answer: yes, $42 = 3 \times 14$.
Example 5
Fill in the missing factor: $3 \times \square = 27$.
Skip-count in threes and count the steps to 27: 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27 — that is 9 steps.
$$3 \times 9 = 27$$
Final answer: the missing factor is 9.
Common Mistakes with the 3 Times Table
Mistake 1: Drifting off the multiples mid-count
Where it slips in: Skip-counting past $3 \times 6$, where the products stop being familiar.
Don't do this: Counting 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 19 — adding 4 instead of 3 by accident.
The correct way: Each jump adds exactly 3, so after 15 comes 18. The digit-sum check flags 19 instantly, since $1 + 9 = 10$ is not a multiple of 3.
Mistake 2: Confusing 3× with 2×
Where it slips in: When a child has the 2 times table solid and reaches for it out of habit.
Don't do this: Writing $3 \times 8 = 16$ (that is $2 \times 8$).
The correct way: $3 \times 8$ is one more group of 8 than $2 \times 8$, so $16 + 8 = 24$.
The memorizer struggles most here. They can chant the table top to bottom but freeze when asked $3 \times 7$ cold, out of order — the fix is the digit-sum check and the build-from-a-neighbour habit, which let them reconstruct any fact instead of fishing for it.
Practice Questions
$3 \times 5 = \square$
$3 \times 7 = \square$
$3 \times 11 = \square$
Fill in the missing factor: $3 \times \square = 18$.
A stool has 3 legs. How many legs on 6 stools?
Use the digit-sum check: is 48 a multiple of 3?
$3 \times 15 = \square$
Which is larger, $3 \times 9$ or $2 \times 12$?
Answers: 1. 15 · 2. 21 · 3. 33 · 4. 6 · 5. 18 legs · 6. Yes ($4 + 8 = 12$) · 7. 45 · 8. $3 \times 9 = 27$ is larger than $2 \times 12 = 24$.
Related Multiplication Tables
Start from the tables from 1 to 20 hub for the full set. Once threes are solid, double them for the 6 times table, then stack on to the 9 times table, the 12 times table, and the 24 times table — all part of the multiples-of-three family. Bhanzu's math tricks guide collects more pattern shortcuts.
Was this article helpful?
Your feedback helps us write better content