Up to this point, you have learned about the positive integers, which are the ones to the right of the $0$ in the picture below. Now, you will start learning about the integers to the left of the $0$ in the picture below. These numbers are called negative numbers.

A negative number has a short line in front of it, just like the numbers to the left of the $0$ in the picture. This line tells you that the number is a negative number. For example, the number minus three ($-3$) is made up of two symbols, one line $-$ and a number $3$. When you put the line and the number together, you get the negative number $-3$. On the real line, the number $-3$ is just as far from $0$ as the number $3$. The difference is that they are on opposite sides of $0$.

The line you see in front of negative numbers is called a minus sign. This minus sign tells you that you’re dealing with a negative number. The minus you know from earlier is a subtraction minus. It’s an operator that tells you to subtract one number from another number. It’s really important to know the difference between a subtraction minus and a minus sign.