What number is 5 less than 9?

When solving a question like "What number is 5 less than 9?", take a close look at what it is really asking.

You have the number 9 and you are looking for a number that is 5 less than 9. In other words, if you have 9 and take away 5, then how many do you have?

You guessed it! This is a subtraction problem. 9 is the minuend and 5 is subtrahend and the answer we are looking for is the difference.

Therefore, to solve "What number is 5 less than 9?", you subtract 5 from 9 like so:

9 - 5 = 4

Less Than Calculator
Need another answer? Enter another "What number is X less than Y?" problem below:

What number is 5 less than 10?
Proceed to the next problem on our list that we explained and answered.