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Written subtraction

This page was translated from German with AI. It has not been checked by a native speaker. Original page in German

For minus you ask: how much is missing from the lower digit up to the upper digit? You learn the complement method (das Ergänzungsverfahren) with carry and the check with plus (die Probe).
📄 Open worksheet (PDF, German)

The video

In the video the numbers stand under each other. Small digits show what you remember.

Subtitles are available in ten languages. Choose them at the bottom right of the video.

Contents of the video

  1. 0:00 Introduction
  2. 0:17 Adding up from below
  3. 0:42 With carry
  4. 1:33 Check
  5. 1:48 Careful, mistake!
  6. 2:22 Try it yourself

The most important points

Adding up from below

In every column ask: how much is missing from the lower digit up to the upper digit? \(875 - 321\): \(1 \to 5\): 4, \(2 \to 7\): 5, \(3 \to 8\): 5. The result is \(554\).

Adding up from below, column by column.
Adding up from below, column by column.

With carry

If the upper digit is smaller, you add 10 to it (4 becomes 14). In return the lower digit to its left gets 1 more. \(734 - 256\): \(6 \to 14\): 8; \(5 + 1 = 6 \to 13\): 7; \(2 + 1 = 3 \to 7\): 4. The result is \(478\).

734 - 256 with small remembered digits.
\(734 - 256\) with small remembered digits.

Check with plus: \(478 + 256 = 734\). Careful: do not turn “small minus big” around: \(52 - 38 = 14\), not \(26\). Note: in some countries people calculate differently (cross out a digit and “borrow”). The result is always the same. Here you learn the complement method.

52 - 38: the wrong and the right way.
\(52 - 38\): the wrong and the right way.

The worksheet

Here you can see the worksheet for the video (in German). First it explains everything again, then there are practice tasks at three levels. You can also open it as a PDF and print it.

📄 Open worksheet (PDF, German)

The worksheet – Page 1
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The worksheet – Page 2
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The worksheet – Page 3
Page 3/4
Show the worksheet solutions
The worksheet – Page 4
Page 4/4

Try it yourself

Task

Calculate in writing: a) \(925 - 478\) b) \(3\,004 - 1\,586\)

Show solution

a) \(447\) b) \(1\,418\)

Keep learning with a language model

Du bist meine Mathe-Lehrkraft. Ich lerne Deutsch als Zweitsprache. Unser Thema: schriftlich subtrahieren (Ergänzungsverfahren, Übertrag, Probe mit Plus). Stelle mir nacheinander fünf kurze Aufgaben. Warte immer auf meine Antwort. Sag mir dann, ob sie richtig ist, und erkläre kurz, warum. Benutze einfache deutsche Sätze.

How this was made: The idea, structure and examples of the series are mine. I made them with the help of AI: a language model (LLM) built the slides of the video following my instructions. The voice was generated with Qwen3-TTS, modelled on my own voice.

The subtitles, the translations, the worksheet and this page were also made with the help of AI. The translations have not been checked by native speakers.

The videos, worksheets, texts and prompts in this series are licensed under CC BY 4.0: you may use, change and share them if you name the source.