Addition (+)
BaselineWidely available
This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.
Theaddition (+
) operator produces the sum of numeric operands or string concatenation.
Try it
console.log(2 + 2);// Expected output: 4console.log(2 + true);// Expected output: 3console.log("hello " + "everyone");// Expected output: "hello everyone"console.log(2001 + ": A Space Odyssey");// Expected output: "2001: A Space Odyssey"
Syntax
x + y
Description
The+
operator is overloaded for two distinct operations: numeric addition and string concatenation. When evaluating, it firstcoerces both operands to primitives. Then, the two operands' types are tested:
- If one side is a string, the other operand is alsoconverted to a string and they are concatenated.
- If they are bothBigInts, BigInt addition is performed. If one side is a BigInt but the other is not, a
TypeError
is thrown. - Otherwise, both sides areconverted to numbers, and numeric addition is performed.
String concatenation is often thought to be equivalent withtemplate literals orString.prototype.concat()
, but they are not. Addition coerces the expression to aprimitive, which callsvalueOf()
in priority; on the other hand, template literals andconcat()
coerce the expression to astring, which callstoString()
in priority. If the expression has a[Symbol.toPrimitive]()
method, string concatenation calls it with"default"
as hint, while template literals use"string"
. This is important for objects that have different string and primitive representations — such asTemporal
, whose objects'valueOf()
methods all throw.
const t = Temporal.Now.instant();"" + t; // Throws TypeError`${t}`; // '2022-07-31T04:48:56.113918308Z'"".concat(t); // '2022-07-31T04:48:56.113918308Z'
You are advised to not use"" + x
to performstring coercion.
Examples
Addition using numbers
1 + 2; // 3
Other non-string, non-BigInt values are coerced to numbers:
true + 1; // 2false + false; // 0
Addition using BigInts
1n + 2n; // 3n
You cannot mix BigInt and number operands in addition.
1n + 2; // TypeError: Cannot mix BigInt and other types, use explicit conversions2 + 1n; // TypeError: Cannot mix BigInt and other types, use explicit conversions"1" + 2n; // TypeError: Cannot mix BigInt and other types, use explicit conversions
To do addition with a BigInt and a non-BigInt, convert either operand:
1n + BigInt(2); // 3nNumber(1n) + 2; // 3
Addition using strings
If one of the operands is a string, the other is converted to a string and they are concatenated:
"foo" + "bar"; // "foobar"5 + "foo"; // "5foo""foo" + false; // "foofalse""2" + 2; // "22"
Specifications
Specification |
---|
ECMAScript® 2026 Language Specification # sec-addition-operator-plus |