We have numbers 5173 and 9699. Let's start adding them together.

Step 1: We'll start by adding the digits 3 & 9 in column 1 and get 12.
We'll write down the last digit 2 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 2: We'll start by adding the digits 7 & 9 in column 2 and get 17.
We'll write down the last digit 7 and carry the 1 to the next column.

Step 3: We'll start by adding the digits 1 & 6 in column 3 and get 8.

Step 4: We'll start by adding the digits 5 & 9 in column 4 and get 14.
We'll write down the last digit 4 and carry the 1 to the next column.

So, 5173 + 9699 = 14872.

