Soroban subtraction drills (2 digits)
Subtraction is where abacus learners lose the most marks — the complements run backwards and the borrow travels the other way.
- 5 rows × 2 digits, subtraction
- About 7 min
- Free, no account
Sample problems
Real problems from this drill, with answers. Nothing to install, no account, no email — work them on paper, on a physical abacus, or in your head.
- 1181− 54− 53− 47− 22?
- 2254− 94− 21− 13− 85?
- 3318− 54− 64− 85− 47?
- 4170− 14− 29− 98− 22?
- 5305− 43− 98− 29− 61?
- 6264− 15− 84− 33− 45?
- 7286− 89− 36− 41− 28?
- 8164− 50− 49− 14− 28?
- 9225− 43− 66− 36− 61?
- 10192− 62− 23− 89− 16?
Full answer key
- 181 − 54 − 53 − 47 − 22 = 5
- 254 − 94 − 21 − 13 − 85 = 41
- 318 − 54 − 64 − 85 − 47 = 68
- 170 − 14 − 29 − 98 − 22 = 7
- 305 − 43 − 98 − 29 − 61 = 74
- 264 − 15 − 84 − 33 − 45 = 87
- 286 − 89 − 36 − 41 − 28 = 92
- 164 − 50 − 49 − 14 − 28 = 23
- 225 − 43 − 66 − 36 − 61 = 19
- 192 − 62 − 23 − 89 − 16 = 2
This page is one drill. The app is the whole programme.
Kani Math is a full mental-arithmetic course, not a single exercise. Free to start, no signup, and it runs on the web, Android and iPhone.
- ✓Nine levels, from the first bead to division
- ✓Four timed sprints and two practice exams, with leaderboards
- ✓Flash, listening and abacus drills at a speed you set
- ✓Versus matches against friends or the computer
- ✓Say your answers out loud — the app listens and marks them
- ✓Streaks, coins and badges, a teacher view, and a parent dashboard with Premium
Want to stay here? The demo further down runs right on this page.
Practise it now
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About this drill
Every complement rule has a subtraction twin, and the twins are where errors concentrate. To subtract 8 from a rod showing 2, you remove ten from the rod on the left and give back two — the mirror of the addition rule, using the same pair. Learners who memorised the addition rules as procedures rather than as pairs have to relearn everything here; learners who memorised the pairs get subtraction almost free.
Each problem below starts from a number large enough that four subtractions never take the total below zero, because a soroban cannot show a negative. That constraint is not a simplification — it is how the instrument works, and it shapes how subtraction is taught.
How to practise it
- 1Set the starting number, then work down the column.
- 2For each row ask "is the bead free?" before reaching for a complement.
- 3Borrow ten from the left rod, then give back the complement.
- 4The total never goes below zero — if it does, you made an error.