Number bonds to 10 are the pairs of numbers that fit together to make ten: 1 and 9, 2 and 8, 3 and 7, 4 and 6, 5 and 5, and so on. Children who know these pairs by heart find addition, subtraction and later carrying much easier, because ten is the anchor of our whole number system. In the game above your child sees a ten-frame (two rows of five boxes). A few red counters are already inside. Your child taps to fill the empty boxes with blue counters, hears each one counted, and then picks how many blue they added. Golu then says the whole bond aloud, for example "Seven and three make ten", in Hindi and English.
What is a number bond?
A number bond shows how one whole number splits into two parts. Teachers often draw it as a circle for the whole with two smaller circles for the parts, which is why it is also called the part-whole model. If the whole is 10 and one part is 6, the other part must be 4. The same bond also gives you four facts at once: 6 + 4 = 10, 4 + 6 = 10, 10 − 6 = 4 and 10 − 4 = 6. That is the real power of number bonds: one picture, four sums.
In the UK these pairs are often called "number bonds to 10", in Singapore maths "number bonds", and in many US classrooms "friends of 10" or "ways to make 10". In Hindi you can say दस बनाने वाली जोड़ियाँ. They are all the same idea.
Why a ten-frame works so well
A ten-frame lets a child see the missing part without counting from one. With seven red counters, three empty boxes are staring back at them. After a little practice children stop counting the empty boxes and simply know "three more". That jump from counting to knowing is exactly what we want. The five-box row also helps: a full top row is always five, so 5 + 2 becomes "one full row and two more".
Because every box is the same size and in the same place, the ten-frame also builds the quick-look skill you can practise on our subitizing games page.
How to use this page
- Make 10: a full ten-frame with 1 to 9 red counters. Tap anywhere on the frame to add a blue one. When the frame is full, choose how many blue you added.
- Make 5: a single row of five for younger children. It opens by default when the age in Settings is 2-3 or 3-4.
- Every question is spoken, and the 🔊 button repeats it. The अ+A button in the header changes the order of Hindi and English, or plays just one language.
- A wrong number is never called wrong. Golu says the number that was tapped, then the right card glows, then a 👆 points to it.
- After a short set of rounds your child gets a marble for the Goli Jar and a small real-world mission. The game never jumps to a new game by itself.
Number bonds by age: what to expect
| Age | What is realistic | Try this on the page |
|---|---|---|
| 3-4 (Nursery) | Counting up to 5 objects, seeing that "full" means all boxes are filled | Make 5 with a grown-up counting along |
| 4-5 (LKG) | Number bonds to 5 without counting, starting bonds to 10 with counting | Make 5 until easy, then Make 10 |
| 5-6 (UKG / Kindergarten) | Most number bonds to 10 by heart; linking them to addition and subtraction | Make 10, then say the "take away" fact out loud |
| 6+ (Class 1) | Bonds to 20 and to 100 (30 + 70) built from bonds to 10 | Make 10, then talk about 20 as two ten-frames |
How to teach number bonds at home in 10 minutes a day
Start with real things
Put ten spoons or ten peanuts on a plate. Hide some under a bowl and ask, "Ten altogether. I can see six. How many are hiding?" Lift the bowl to check. Children love the surprise, and it is the same thinking as the ten-frame game.
Use fingers
Ten fingers are a ten-frame you always carry. Show seven fingers and ask how many are folded down. Swap roles and let your child test you.
Make an egg-box ten-frame
Cut two cups off a twelve-egg carton to leave ten. Drop in red and green buttons, rajma beans or bottle caps, and play "fill it up". This works well for a number bonds activity at school too.
Sing and chant
Chant the pairs while walking: "One and nine, two and eight, three and seven, don't be late!" A rhythm helps memory more than a number bonds worksheet does, especially for four-year-olds.
Always say the bond in both directions: "three and seven make ten" and "seven and three make ten". It quietly teaches that the order of adding does not matter.
Number bonds to 10 chart
Print this page if you want a small chart for the fridge; it prints cleanly from the browser.
| Part | Part | Whole | Say it in Hindi |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 10 | एक और नौ मिलकर दस |
| 2 | 8 | 10 | दो और आठ मिलकर दस |
| 3 | 7 | 10 | तीन और सात मिलकर दस |
| 4 | 6 | 10 | चार और छह मिलकर दस |
| 5 | 5 | 10 | पाँच और पाँच मिलकर दस |
For number bonds to 5 the pairs are 1 and 4, 2 and 3, and 5 and 0. Start there if ten feels like too much.
When your child finds it hard
Most children count every box at first. That is fine; counting is how they discover the pattern. Resist the urge to rush them. If your child gets upset, go back to Make 5, or put the phone away and play with real beans for a day. Praise the effort you can see: "You filled every box carefully." For children with speech delay, pointing to the right card is a full answer. Autistic children often enjoy the fixed, tidy layout of the frame; keep sessions short and predictable. In bilingual homes, let your child answer in whichever language comes first. Screen time for this age works best as co-play: sit together, keep it to a few minutes, and move to real objects. Under-2s learn far more from a grown-up and a handful of blocks than from any screen.
Where to go next
Once bonds to 10 feel easy, try addition for kids and subtraction for kids, where the same pairs appear as sums. Tens and ones shows why ten matters so much, and counting 1 to 10 is the right warm-up for younger brothers and sisters.
