How long division is written around the world
Every country teaches the same arithmetic, but not the same way of writing it down. A child who learned long division in Germany would not recognise the layout used in France, and a worksheet from the United States uses a remainder notation Japanese pupils never see.
Below is one division, 857 ÷ 4 = 214 remainder 1, worked out in six countries’ school layouts. Each figure is drawn by the same generator that makes our worksheets, so the working is exactly what the answer keys show.
The divisor sits outside a bracket, the quotient goes above the bar and the remainder is written with R.
How to Do Long Division, Step by Step →Written on one line with “:” instead of “÷”; the working goes underneath, each product with a minus sign. The remainder is “R”. Squared paper, one digit per square.
Schriftliche Division: Schritt für Schritt erklärt →The “potence”: dividend on the left, divisor on the right of a vertical line, quotient under the divisor. Spain, Italy, Brazil and Turkey use the same shape.
La division posée (potence) : méthode pas à pas →The quotient is written above a bar over the dividend, with “: 4” to the right; “·” is used for multiplication.
Dzielenie pisemne krok po kroku →NCERT textbooks write the divisor before “)” and the quotient after “(”, on the same line as the dividend.
Long Division, NCERT Method: Step by Step →The same bracket shape as in the US, but the remainder is written “あまり”, and only the quotient goes above the bar.
わり算の筆算のやり方（たてる・かける・ひく・おろす） →Notation in 22 countries
How schools write the times and division signs, a remainder, a decimal and a large number, and which paper size they print on. Every value comes from that country’s official curriculum documents or, where those are silent, from its standard school practice; the official sources are linked from each country page.
| Country | × ÷ | Long division | Remainder | Decimal | Large number | Paper |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | × ÷ | Bracket, quotient above | 7 R 2 | 3.25 | 1,234,567 | US Letter |
| England | × ÷ | Bracket, quotient above | 7 r 2 | 3.25 | 1,234,567 | A4 |
| Canada | × ÷ | Bracket, quotient above | 7 R 2 | 3.25 | 1 234 567 | US Letter |
| Australia | × ÷ | Bracket, quotient above | 7 r 2 | 3.25 | 1 234 567 | A4 |
| India | × ÷ | b ) a ( q | Q = 7, R = 2 | 3.25 | 12,34,567 | A4 |
| Singapore | × ÷ | Bracket, quotient above | 7 R 2 | 3.25 | 1 234 567 | A4 |
| Philippines | × ÷ | Bracket, quotient above | 7 R 2 | 3.25 | 1 234 567 | US Letter |
| Deutschland | · : | One line: a : b = q | 7 R 2 | 3,25 | 1 234 567 | A4 |
| France | × ÷ | Divisor right, quotient under it | q = 7 ; r = 2 | 3,25 | 1 234 567 | A4 |
| España | × : | Divisor right, quotient under it | 7 (resto 2) | 3,25 | 1.234.567 | A4 |
| México | × ÷ | Bracket, quotient above | 7 (residuo 2) | 3.25 | 1 234 567 | US Letter |
| Italia | × : | Divisor right, quotient under it | 7 (resto 2) | 3,25 | 1.234.567 | A4 |
| Brasil | × ÷ | Divisor right, quotient under it | 7 (resto 2) | 3,25 | 1 234 567 | A4 |
| Portugal | × : | Divisor right, quotient under it | 7 (resto 2) | 3,25 | 1 234 567 | A4 |
| Nederland | × : | One line: a : b = q | 7 rest 2 | 3,25 | 1.234.567 | A4 |
| Polska | · : | Quotient above a bar, “: b” right | 7 r. 2 | 3,25 | 1 234 567 | A4 |
| Türkiye | × ÷ | Divisor right, quotient under it | 7 (kalan 2) | 3,25 | 1 234 567 | A4 |
| Indonesia | × : | Bracket, quotient above | 7 sisa 2 | 3,25 | 1.234.567 | A4 |
| 日本 | × ÷ | Bracket, quotient above | 7あまり2 | 3.25 | 1234567 | A4 |
| 한국 | × ÷ | Bracket, quotient above | 7…2 | 3.25 | 1,234,567 | A4 |
| 台灣 | × ÷ | Bracket, quotient above | 7 … 2 | 3.25 | 1,234,567 | A4 |
| 香港 | × ÷ | Bracket, quotient above | 7 … 2 | 3.25 | 1,234,567 | A4 |
In the Netherlands formal written division is no longer taught in primary school; division is set out in a line and worked with the “hapmethode” (repeated subtraction of chunks). Japanese sheets for the lower grades do not group thousands at all.