Numerator

What it counts

$$\frac{\textbf{3}}{4} \quad\longleftarrow\quad \text{the numerator}$$

The denominator says how big the parts are. The numerator says how many of them you have.

What it tells you at a glance

Numerator compared with the denominator	The fraction is
smaller	less than $1$
equal	exactly $1$
bigger	more than $1$, an improper fraction

So $\tfrac{7}{4}$ is more than a whole before you calculate anything.

In each operation

• Adding and subtracting: only the numerators change, once the denominators match.
• Multiplying: the numerators multiply together.
• Dividing: the second fraction flips, so its numerator becomes a denominator.

The numerator is the part that moves. See adding fractions.

Remembering which is which

Numerator is up in the air; denominator is down. Alphabetically d comes before n, and in the fraction the d sits below.