8×5

"X" is a multiplication symbol.

The numbers before and after the multiplication sign are called factors.

8×5=40

Reading: Eight times five equals forty.

In the current textbooks, only "multiplication" is said, not "multiplication" (it should be pronounced "multiplication").

8×5 means the addition of five eights.

5x8 means the addition of eight 5s.

Note: In the above multiplication, the factor after the multiplication sign is often taken as the multiple of the factor before the multiplication sign.

So:

Five eights is five times as much as eight. No, it should be eight times five.

Actual situation (advanced stage)

A times b is A×B, and a times b is b× a.

For the multiplication of two numbers (belonging to a number field, such as a complex set), because the exchange law holds, AB=BA, and the results of "multiplication" and "multiplication" are the same. Note that the results are the same, but they actually express different operation processes.

But for multiplication without commutative law (essentially not the same operation as the above multiplication), such as noncommutative matrix multiplication, AB≠BA. In this case, the results of "multiplication" and "multiplication" are different, obviously different.