Raise and rise are both about upward movement, but the grammar depends on who's doing the moving: something rises, but someone raises something.
- Rise means to move upward or increase; it takes no object.
- Raise means to lift or increase something; it always needs an object.
Rise: going up, no object
Rise describes something moving upward or increasing, with no direct object involved.
The sun rises just after six this time of year.
Prices have risen sharply this year.
She rose from her seat and walked to the door.
Forms: rise → rose → risen (and rising). Rise is irregular, so these forms need to be learned rather than guessed.
Raise: lifting something, needs an object
Raise means to lift, increase, or bring something up, and there's always a direct object: the thing being raised.
Please raise your hand if you have a question.
They raised the rent again this year.
We need to raise awareness about the new policy.
Forms: raise → raised → raised (and raising). Raise is a regular verb.
Easy way to tell them apart
Ask: is something going up by itself, or is someone or something causing it to go up?
- No object → rise (rise, rose, risen)
- Has an object → raise (raise, raised, raised)
Prices rise. (no object — rise is intransitive)
The company raises prices. (prices is the object — raise is transitive)
Common mistakes
Nobody's doing the lifting? Use rise.
❌ He raised early every morning to go running.
✅ He rose early every morning to go running.
Raising something? Use raise.
❌ She rose her hand to answer the question.
✅ She raised her hand to answer the question.
Watch the irregular forms of rise.
❌ Prices have raised a lot this year.
✅ Prices have risen a lot this year. The company, on the other hand, has raised its prices — same idea, different verb, because now there's someone doing the raising.
Good to know
Just starting out? You can safely skip this part.
In British English, a pay increase is usually a pay rise; in American English, it's typically a raise. That's not a mistake on either side, just two dialects building their noun from different verbs.
In a conversation
Priya: Did you hear? Bread prices rose again.
Sam: They'll have to raise my salary to match at this rate.
Priya: Good luck with that conversation.
Easy way to remember it
Rise travels alone. Raise brings an object.