Times Tables 1-12: Chart, Patterns, and What to Drill

The Full 1-12 Multiplication Chart

×	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
2	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	22	24
3	3	6	9	12	15	18	21	24	27	30	33	36
4	4	8	12	16	20	24	28	32	36	40	44	48
5	5	10	15	20	25	30	35	40	45	50	55	60
6	6	12	18	24	30	36	42	48	54	60	66	72
7	7	14	21	28	35	42	49	56	63	70	77	84
8	8	16	24	32	40	48	56	64	72	80	88	96
9	9	18	27	36	45	54	63	72	81	90	99	108
10	10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90	100	110	120
11	11	22	33	44	55	66	77	88	99	110	121	132
12	12	24	36	48	60	72	84	96	108	120	132	144

You Don't Actually Need to Memorize 144 Facts

A 12×12 grid looks like 144 separate facts to cram, which is discouraging before you've even started. But multiplication doesn't care which order you multiply in - 3×7 and 7×3 land on the same answer - so half the grid just mirrors the other half across the diagonal. That alone drops you to 78 distinct facts. Cut the ×1, ×2, and ×10 rows too, since those take almost no effort, and you're down to around 55 facts that actually need real practice. Looked at that way, it's a far smaller task than the full grid suggests.

If you're wondering where to focus, it's usually the same short list every time: 6×7=42, 6×8=48, 7×8=56, and 7×12=84 cause more hesitation than anything else, along with most of the 7s and 8s in general. Those are worth drilling on purpose rather than hoping repetition eventually sorts them out.

Number Tricks That Make Each Table Easier

The 2s

This is just counting by evens, or doubling the number you're given - take your pick. Every answer lands on an even number, so mistakes are easy to catch. After the 1s, nothing in the set is friendlier.

The 5s

Every answer ends in 0 or 5, which makes checking yourself instant. Quickest route: multiply by 10 first, then cut that result in half. So 5 × 8 turns into (10 × 8) ÷ 2, or 80 ÷ 2 = 40.

The 9s

Two tricks live in this table. First: add the digits of any 9-times answer and you land on 9 every time - 18 (1+8=9), 27 (2+7=9), 36 (3+6=9). Second: for 9 × n, the tens digit of the answer is always n minus 1, and the ones digit is whatever's needed to make the two digits add up to 9.

There's also a finger trick worth showing kids: hold up both hands, and for 9 × n fold down the nth finger. Whatever's left standing to the left of that finger is the tens digit, and everything to the right is the ones digit. It looks like a magic trick, but it's accurate every single time.

The 10s

Add a zero to the end and you're finished - 10 × 7 = 70, no real calculation involved. Nobody struggles with this one.

The 11s (up through 9)

For any single digit times 11, write that digit twice in a row: 11 × 3 = 33, 11 × 7 = 77, 11 × 9 = 99. Once you get past 9 - meaning 11 × 10, 11 × 11, and 11 × 12 - the doubling shortcut breaks down, so you just work them out directly: 110, 121, and 132.

The 12s

Split it into a ×10 chunk and a ×2 chunk, then add them back together: 12 × 7 = (10 × 7) + (2 × 7) = 70 + 14 = 84. That same splitting approach isn't limited to the 12s - it works for pulling apart almost any multiplication that feels too big to do in your head in one move.

The Facts That Give Everyone the Most Trouble

These are the answers people hesitate over most often under time pressure, so they deserve extra attention rather than the same treatment as the easy facts:

Fact	Answer	Memory Hook
6 × 7	42	The famous "answer to everything" from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
6 × 8	48	Both numbers are even, and the answer ends in 8, same as one of the factors
7 × 8	56	Think "5, 6, 7, 8" - the digits 5 and 6 spell out 56 = 7 × 8
7 × 12	84	Split it: 12 × 7 = 70 + 14 = 84
8 × 9	72	Using the 9s trick: 8 − 1 = 7, so the answer is 72
8 × 12	96	Split it: 80 + 16 = 96
9 × 12	108	Split it: 90 + 18 = 108

What Actually Speeds Up Learning Them

Reading top to bottom through the whole chart is one of the weaker ways to make these stick. A few methods work noticeably better:

• Spread your practice out - Quiz yourself on a fact, revisit it the next day, then a few days after that, then a week later. Spacing it out like this matches how memory actually consolidates far better than a single cramming session does.
• Put more time into the hard ones - Treating 2×5 and 7×8 as equally difficult wastes practice time on a fact you already know cold. Spend your effort where it's actually needed.
• Use the patterns above - The 9s trick and the "times 10, then halve" method for 5s are genuinely faster than pure memorization, especially while you're still building speed.
• Flip it around occasionally - Practice answering "what times 7 makes 56?" and not just "7 × 8 = ?" Division leans on being able to run these facts backward just as smoothly as forward.

Why This Still Matters When Everyone Has a Calculator

Calculators are everywhere, sure. But quick mental math is still what lets you estimate on the spot, catch a wrong answer before you hit submit, or move through a timed test without reaching for a device. Beyond that, having these facts automatic makes fractions, factoring, and mental algebra noticeably easier, and it builds a general number sense that pays off across the rest of math. It's a fairly small investment with a payoff that keeps compounding.

Want to focus on a specific range instead of grinding through the whole grid? The times table generator lets you build and test any set of facts on demand.

The Short Version

Once you account for the grid's symmetry and set aside the easy rows, the full 12×12 table really shrinks to around 55 facts worth actually memorizing. The 5s, 9s, and 11s each carry a pattern that trims that number further. What's left over - mainly the 6×7, 7×8, and 6×8 cluster - just takes repeated, deliberate practice; there's no pattern that shortcuts those three. Nail the tables, though, and a surprising chunk of the rest of math gets easier by association.