This booklet has been written in-line with the 2014 National Curriculum, and contains the mathematical vocabulary relating to number that your child will need to understand and be able to use as they move through the School. It is designed to give parents a progression of vocabulary so that you can see the next steps. Your child might still need to become familiar with words from an earlier year group and can of course also start to look at the vocabulary for the following year. Each list builds on the previous year and so by the time the children reach Year 6 they should have built up a large bank of mathematical words.
You can help by using these words in context, during play and fun activities and whilst out and about.
There are many opportunities for using mathematical vocabulary such as baking, shopping and counting whilst putting away. Using these words will really help your child to understand them and to start using them in context on their own.
Words in red indicate the new words for that year group.
Sarah Clifton
Maths Specialist Teacher (MaST)
September 2015

MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE – EYFS
This is the mathematical vocabulary which we want your child to become familiar with this year.
These words will be used regularly in Maths lessons and taught throughout the day. It would be really helpful if, when you come across examples in real life where the words could be used, you brought them to the attention of your child and helped them to understand the meaning.
Counting and Recognising Numbers – number / zero/ none / one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten... to twenty and beyond.
None / how many? / count / count up to / count on / count from / count back / how many times? /
Pattern / pair / guess / estimate / nearly / close to / about the same as / just over / just under / too many / enough / not enough
Odd/even
More, less, few, is the same as, estimate, close to, too many, too few
Place Value – ones, tens, digit
More/larger/greater/bigger/most/biggest/largest/greatest
Fewer/smaller/less/fewest/smallest/least
Compare/order/size
First/second/third....twentieth
Last, last but one
Before, after, next, between
Addition and Subtraction – add, more, and, make, sum, total, altogether, double, one more, two more, ten more, how many more make...?, how much more is ... than ...?, take away, how many are left...? how many have gone...?, one less, two less, ten less, how many fewer is ... than ...? difference between, enough, not enough
Multiplication and Division – sharing, doubling, share, double, half, halve, number patterns
Fractions – half, quarter, parts of the whole
MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE – Year 1
Sarah Clifton
Maths Specialist Teacher (MaST)
September 2015

This is the mathematical vocabulary which we want your child to become familiar with this year.
These words will be used regularly in Maths lessons and taught throughout the day. It would be really helpful if, when you come across examples in real life where the words could be used, you brought them to the attention of your child and helped them to understand the meaning.
Counting and Recognising Numbers – number / numeral / zero/ none / one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten... to one hundred and beyond.
None / how many? / count / count up to / count on / count from / count back / how many times? /
Pattern / pair / guess / estimate / nearly / close to / about the same as / just over / just under / too many / enough / not enough
Odd/even/ forwards/backwards/ count in 2s, 5s and 10s
More, less, few, is the same as, estimate, close to, too many, too few, equal to, equivalent to, most, least, many, multiple of
Place Value – ones, tens, digit
More/larger/greater/bigger/most/biggest/largest/greatest
Fewer/smaller/less/fewest/smallest/least
Compare/order/size
First/second/third....twentieth
Last, last but one
Before, after, next, between
Equal to, half-way between, above, below
Addition and Subtraction – addition , add, more, and, make, sum, total, altogether, double, near double , half, halve , one more, two more, ten more, how many more make...?, how much more is ... than ...?, subtract , take away, how many are left...? how many have gone...?, one less, two less, ten less, how many fewer is ... than ...? difference between, enough, not enough, equals, is the same as, number bonds/pairs, missing number
Multiplication and Division – multiplication, multiply, multiplied by, multiple, division, divide, groups of, sharing, doubling, share, double, half, halve, number patterns
Fractions – half, quarter, parts of the whole, fraction, equal part, equal grouping, equal sharing, one of two equal parts, one of four equal parts
MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE – Year 2
This is the mathematical vocabulary which we want your child to become familiar with this year.
These words will be used regularly in Maths lessons and taught throughout the day. It would be really
Sarah Clifton
Maths Specialist Teacher (MaST)
September 2015

helpful if, when you come across examples in real life where the words could be used, you brought them to the attention of your child and helped them to understand the meaning.
Counting and Recognising Numbers – number / numeral / zero/ none / one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten... one hundred, two hundred ....
to one thousand
None / how many? / count / count up to / count on / count from / count back / how many times? /
Pattern / pair / guess / estimate / nearly / close to / about the same as / just over / just under / too many / enough / not enough
Odd/even/forwards/backwards, count in 2s, 5s and 10s, 3s, 4s and so on.
More, less, few, is the same as, estimate, close to, too many, too few, equal to, equivalent to, most, least, many, multiple of, tally, sequence, continue, predict, rule, > greater than, < less than
Place Value – ones, tens, hundreds , digit, one/two/three digit number, place value, stands for, represents
More/larger/greater/bigger/most/biggest/largest/greatest
Fewer/smaller/less/fewest/smallest/least
Compare/order/size
First/second/third....twentieth, twenty-first, twenty second...
Last, last but one
Before, after, next, between
Equal to, half-way between, above, below
Addition and Subtraction – addition, add, more, and, make, sum, total, altogether, double, near double, half, halve, one more, two more, ten more, one hundred more , how many more make...?, how much more is ... than ...?, subtract, take away, how many are left...? how many have gone...?, one less, two less, ten less, one hundred less , how many fewer is ... than ...? difference between, enough, not enough, equals, is the same as, number bonds/pairs/ number facts , missing number, tens boundary
Multiplication and Division – multiplication, multiply, multiplied by, multiple, groups of, times, once, twice, three times...ten times, repeated addition, division, divide, divided by , groups of, sharing, doubling, share, share equally , equal groups of , double, half, halve, number patterns, row, column, array, multiplication facts, division facts
Fractions – half, quarter, parts of the whole, fraction, equal part, equal grouping, equal sharing, one of two equal parts, one of four equal parts, equivalent fraction, numerator, denominator, one third, two thirds, one half, two halves, one quarter, two quarters, three quarters
MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE – Year 3
This is the mathematical vocabulary which we want your child to become familiar with this year.
These words will be used regularly in Maths lessons and taught throughout the day. It would be really
Sarah Clifton
Maths Specialist Teacher (MaST)
September 2015

helpful if, when you come across examples in real life where the words could be used, you brought them to the attention of your child and helped them to understand the meaning.
Counting and Recognising Numbers – number / numeral / zero/ none / one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten... one hundred, two hundred ....to one thousand
None / how many? / count / count up to / count on / count from / count back / how many times? /
Pattern / pair / guess / estimate / nearly / close to / about the same as / just over / just under / too many / enough / not enough
Odd/even/forwards/backwards, count in 2s, 5s and 10s, 3s, 4s 8s, 50s, 100s and so on.
More, less, few, is the same as, estimate, close to, too many, too few, equal to, equivalent to, most, least, many, multiple of, factor of , tally, sequence, continue, predict, rule, relationship, Roman numerals , > greater than, < less than
Place Value – ones, tens, hundreds, digit, one/two/three digit number, place value, stands for, represents, place holder, decimal, tenths
More/larger/greater/bigger/most/biggest/largest/greatest
Fewer/smaller/less/fewest/smallest/least
Compare/order/size
First/second/third....twentieth, twenty-first, twenty second...
Last, last but one
Before, after, next, between
Equal to, half-way between, above, below, rounding to the nearest 10/100, round up, round down
Addition and Subtraction – addition, add, more, and, make, sum, total, altogether, double, near double, half, halve, one more, two more, ten more, one hundred more, how many more make...?, how much more is ... than ...?, subtract, take away, how many are left...? how many have gone...?, one less, two less, ten less, one hundred less, how many fewer is ... than ...? difference between, enough, not enough, equals, is the same as, number bonds/pairs/number facts, missing number, tens boundary, hundreds boundary, inverse
Multiplication and Division – multiplication, multiply, multiplied by, multiple, factor , product , groups of, times, once, twice, three times...ten times, repeated addition, division, divide, divided by, groups of, sharing, doubling, share, share equally, equal groups of, double, half, halve, number patterns, row, column, array, multiplication facts, division facts, left over, remainder, inverse
Fractions – half, quarter, parts of the whole, fraction, equal part, equal grouping, equal sharing, one of two equal parts, one of four equal parts, equivalent fraction, numerator, denominator, one third, two thirds, one half, two halves, one quarter, two quarters, three quarters, sixths, sevenths, eights, tenths
MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE – Year 4
This is the mathematical vocabulary which we want your child to become familiar with this year.
These words will be used regularly in Maths lessons and taught throughout the day. It would be really helpful if, when you come across examples in real life where the words could be used, you brought them to the attention of your child and helped them to understand the meaning.
Sarah Clifton
Maths Specialist Teacher (MaST)
September 2015

Counting and Recognising Numbers – number / numeral / zero/ none / one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten... one hundred, two hundred .... one thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million
None / how many? / count / count up to / count on / count from / count back / how many times? /
Pattern / pair / guess / estimate / nearly / close to / about the same as / just over / just under / too many / enough / not enough
Odd/even/forwards/backwards, count in 2s, 5s and 10s, 3s, 4s 8s, 6s, 7s, 9s, 11s, 12s, 25s , 50s, 100s and so on.
More, less, few, is the same as, estimate, close to, too many, too few, equal to, equivalent to, most, least, many, multiple of, factor of, tally, sequence, continue, predict, rule, relationship, Roman numerals, > greater than, < less than, next, consecutive, integer, positive, negative, above/below zero, minus, negative number
Place Value – ones, tens, hundreds, digit, one/two/three digit number, place value, stands for, represents, place holder, decimal, tenths, hundredths, decimal place, decimal equivalent
More/larger/greater/bigger/most/biggest/largest/greatest
Fewer/smaller/less/fewest/smallest/least
Compare/order/size
First/second/third....twentieth, twenty-first, twenty second...
Last, last but one
Before, after, next, between
Equal to, half-way between, above, below, rounding to the nearest 10/100, round up, round down
Addition and Subtraction – addition, add, more, and, make, sum, total, altogether, double, near double, half, halve, one more, two more, ten more, one hundred more, one thousand more , how many more make...?, how much more is ... than ...?, subtract, take away, how many are left...? how many have gone...?, one less, two less, ten less, one hundred less, one thousand less , how many fewer is ... than ...? difference between, enough, not enough, equals, is the same as, number bonds/pairs/number facts, missing number, tens boundary, hundreds boundary, inverse
Multiplication and Division – multiplication, multiply, multiplied by, multiple, factor, product, groups of, times, once, twice, three times...ten times, repeated addition, division, divide, divided by, groups of, sharing, doubling, share, share equally, equal groups of, double, half, halve, number patterns, row, column, array, multiplication facts, division facts, left over, remainder, inverse, square, squared
Fractions – half, quarter, parts of the whole, fraction, equal part, equal grouping, equal sharing, one of two equal parts, one of four equal parts, equivalent fraction, numerator, denominator, one third, two thirds, one half, two halves, one quarter, two quarters, three quarters, sixths, sevenths, eights, tenths, hundredths , decimal fraction
MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE – Year 5
This is the mathematical vocabulary which we want your child to become familiar with this year.
These words will be used regularly in Maths lessons and taught throughout the day. It would be really helpful if, when you come across examples in real life where the words could be used, you brought them to the attention of your child and helped them to understand the meaning.
Sarah Clifton
Maths Specialist Teacher (MaST)
September 2015

Counting and Recognising Numbers – number / numeral / zero/ none / one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten... one hundred, two hundred .... one thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million
None / how many? / count / count up to / count on / count from / count back / how many times? /
Pattern / pair / guess / estimate / nearly / close to / about the same as / just over / just under / too many / enough / not enough
Odd/even/forwards/backwards, count in 2s, 5s and 10s, 3s, 4s 8s, 6s, 7s, 9s, 11s, 12s, 25s, 50s, 100s and so on.
More, less, few, is the same as, estimate, close to, too many, too few, equal to, equivalent to, most, least, many, multiple of, factor of, factor pair , tally, sequence, continue, predict, rule, relationship, Roman numerals, > greater than, < less than, next, consecutive, integer, positive, negative, above/below zero, minus, negative number, formula, divisibility, square number, prime number, ascending/descending order
Place Value – ones, tens, hundreds, digit, one/two/three digit number, place value, stands for, represents, place holder, decimal, tenths, hundredths, decimal place, decimal equivalent
More/larger/greater/bigger/most/biggest/largest/greatest
Fewer/smaller/less/fewest/smallest/least
Compare/order/size
First/second/third....twentieth, twenty-first, twenty second...
Last, last but one
Before, after, next, between
Equal to, half-way between, above, below, rounding to the nearest 10/100/ 1000/10,000 , round up, round down, ones boundary, tenths boundary
Addition and Subtraction – addition, add, more, and, make, sum, total, altogether, double, near double, half, halve, one more, two more, ten more, one hundred more, one thousand more, how many more make...?, how much more is ... than ...?, subtract, take away, how many are left...? how many have gone...?, one less, two less, ten less, one hundred less, one thousand less, how many fewer is ... than ...? difference between, enough, not enough, equals, is the same as, number bonds/pairs/number facts, missing number, tens boundary, hundreds boundary, inverse
Multiplication and Division – multiplication, multiply, multiplied by, multiple, factor, product, groups of, times, once, twice, three times...ten times, repeated addition, division, divide, divided by, groups of, sharing, doubling, share, share equally, equal groups of, double, half, halve, number patterns, row, column, array, multiplication facts, division facts, left over, remainder, inverse, square, squared
Fractions – half, quarter, parts of the whole, fraction, proper/improper fractions , equal part, equal grouping, equal sharing, one of two equal parts, one of four equal parts, equivalent fraction, reduced to, cancel, numerator, denominator, one third, two thirds, one half, two halves, one quarter, two quarters, three quarters, sixths, sevenths, eights, tenths, hundredths, thousandths , decimal fraction, proportion, percentage
MATHEMATICAL LANGUAGE – Year 6
This is the mathematical vocabulary which we want your child to become familiar with this year.
These words will be used regularly in Maths lessons and taught throughout the day. It would be really
Sarah Clifton
Maths Specialist Teacher (MaST)
September 2015

helpful if, when you come across examples in real life where the words could be used, you brought them to the attention of your child and helped them to understand the meaning.
Counting and Recognising Numbers – number / numeral / zero/ none / one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten... one hundred, two hundred .... one thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million
None / how many? / count / count up to / count on / count from / count back / how many times? /
Pattern / pair / guess / estimate / nearly / close to / about the same as / just over / just under / too many / enough / not enough
Odd/even/forwards/backwards, count in 2s, 5s and 10s, 3s, 4s 8s, 6s, 7s, 9s, 11s, 12s, 25s, 50s, 100s and so on.
More, less, few, is the same as, estimate, close to, too many, too few, equal to, equivalent to, most, least, many, multiple of, factor of, factor pair, tally, sequence, continue, predict, rule, relationship, Roman numerals, > greater than, < less than, next, consecutive, integer, positive, negative, above/below zero, minus, negative number, formula, divisibility, square number, prime number, ascending/descending order, factorise, digit total
Place Value – ones, tens, hundreds, digit, one/two/three digit number, place value, stands for, represents, place holder, decimal, tenths, hundredths, decimal place, decimal equivalent
More/larger/greater/bigger/most/biggest/largest/greatest
Fewer/smaller/less/fewest/smallest/least
Compare/order/size
First/second/third....twentieth, twenty-first, twenty second...
Last, last but one
Before, after, next, between
Equal to, half-way between, above, below, rounding to the nearest 10/100/1000/10,000, round up, round down, ones boundary, tenths boundary
Addition and Subtraction – addition, add, more, and, make, sum, total, altogether, double, near double, half, halve, one more, two more, ten more, one hundred more, one thousand more, how many more make...?, how much more is ... than ...?, subtract, take away, how many are left...? how many have gone...?, one less, two less, ten less, one hundred less, one thousand less, how many fewer is ... than ...? difference between, enough, not enough, equals, is the same as, number bonds/pairs/number facts, missing number, tens boundary, hundreds boundary, inverse, formula, formulae, variable, unknown
Multiplication and Division – multiplication, multiply, multiplied by, multiple, factor, product, groups of, times, once, twice, three times...ten times, repeated addition, division, divide, divided by, groups of, sharing, doubling, share, share equally, equal groups of, double, half, halve, number patterns, row, column, array, multiplication facts, division facts, left over, remainder, inverse, square, squared
Fractions – half, quarter, parts of the whole, fraction, proper/improper fractions, equal part, equal grouping, equal sharing, one of two equal parts, one of four equal parts, equivalent fraction, reduced to, cancel, numerator, denominator, one third, two thirds, one half, two halves, one quarter, two quarters, three quarters, sixths, sevenths, eights, tenths, hundredths, thousandths, decimal fraction, proportion, percentage, ratio
Sarah Clifton
Maths Specialist Teacher (MaST)
September 2015