Make 19 with four 9s

The classic four nines puzzle: build an expression from exactly four 9s that equals 19. 19 can be made with nothing but four 9s, + - × ÷, and parentheses.

Solutions using only + - × ÷

9 + 9 + 9 / 9 = 19

Solutions with concatenation and decimals

.9 / .9 + 9 + 9 = 19
(.9 × 9 + 9) / .9 = 19
(9 + 9 - .9) / .9 = 19
(9 - (.9 - 9)) / .9 = 19

Solutions with square roots, factorials, exponents

9! / 9! + 9 + 9 = 19
9 + 9 + 9! / 9! = 19
(9 - 9)! + 9 + 9 = 19
(.9 - .9)! + 9 + 9 = 19
(9! - 9!)! + 9 + 9 = 19

…and 35 more at this tier.

45 distinct solutions found in total, after removing trivial rearrangements.

How 19 compares

19 has 45 distinct solutions across all three tiers — #47 most plentiful of all 100 targets. Exactly one of them uses nothing but + - × ÷. Next door, 18 has 1,302 solutions and 20 has 242 solutions.

If 19 went down easily, make 22 with four 9s — 11 solutions, the nearest step up in scarcity.

Make 18 with four 9s · Make 20 with four 9s

The Number Lab

Same idea, different constraints: four 9s, four 4s, or any four digits you like.

Four Nines — the daily puzzle
Four Nines solver — every target, solved
Four Fours — the 1881 original
Four Fours solver — including the impossible five
Make 24 solver — any four digits
Today's 24 — one new hand a day

Got what you came for?

Stay for something you did not search for.

Four Nines — the daily puzzle: four 9s, one target, new at midnight
The Reflex Lab — nine ways to measure your hands and memory, none of them polite about it
hand me something weird — a random pick from the directory. Could be the horse.

Play the daily Four Nines puzzle, pick another number in the solver, or find more free math games.