Roman numerals chart 1–100: how to read and write Roman numerals
Roman numerals use seven letters: I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C = 100, D = 500 and M = 1000. You add the values from left to right, except that a smaller symbol before a larger one is subtracted, in six pairs only: IV = 4, IX = 9, XL = 40, XC = 90, CD = 400 and CM = 900. The standard form reaches 3999, MMMCMXCIX.
Roman numerals still turn up on clock faces, in chapter headings, on monuments, at the end of film credits and in the names of kings. Reading them takes two rules and one chart. This guide sets out the symbols and the subtractive pairs, shows how to read and write any number step by step, writes out the chart from 1 to 20 and the tens to 100, explains years and clock faces, then points to a free converter.
Key ideas
- Seven symbols: I 1, V 5, X 10, L 50, C 100, D 500, M 1000; I, X, C and M may repeat up to three times in a row, V, L and D never.
- Only six subtractive pairs are standard: IV, IX, XL, XC, CD and CM, so 99 is XCIX, not IC.
- Write a number place by place, thousands, hundreds, tens and ones: 2026 = MM + XX + VI = MMXXVI.
- The standard form stops at 3999, MMMCMXCIX; many clock faces write four as IIII, which is a tradition, not the standard.
What are the seven Roman numerals and the subtractive pairs?
Roman numerals use seven symbols: I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C = 100, D = 500 and M = 1000. A numeral is written from the largest symbol to the smallest and read by adding their values: MDCLXVI is 1000 + 500 + 100 + 50 + 10 + 5 + 1 = 1666.
Two rules keep numerals short. I, X, C and M may be repeated, but never more than three times in a row, so 3 is III and 30 is XXX. V, L and D are never repeated, because two of them make the next symbol: VV would simply be X, and LL would be C.
For the 4s and 9s, a smaller symbol is written before a larger one and subtracted. There are exactly six such pairs: IV = 4, IX = 9, XL = 40, XC = 90, CD = 400 and CM = 900. Only I, X and C are ever subtracted, each from the next two symbols up, and only one symbol at a time. The Romans themselves rarely used this subtractive notation; it became common in Europe after the arrival of printing.
How do you read and write Roman numerals step by step?
To read a numeral, go from left to right: if a symbol is smaller than the one after it, subtract it, otherwise add it. In MCMXCIV, M is 1000, CM is 900, XC is 90 and IV is 4, so the total is 1994. Marking the subtractive pairs first and then adding the groups avoids most mistakes.
To write a number, split it by place value and convert each part on its own. 2026 is 2000 + 20 + 6, which gives MM + XX + VI = MMXXVI. 1999 is 1000 + 900 + 90 + 9, so M + CM + XC + IX = MCMXCIX. 3999, the largest standard numeral, is MMM + CM + XC + IX = MMMCMXCIX.
The usual mistake is a shortcut that skips a place. 99 is XCIX (90 + 9), not IC, and 49 is XLIX (40 + 9), not IL, because I may stand only before V or X. In the same way 8 is VIII, not IIX, since only one symbol can be subtracted. There is no symbol for zero and there are no negative numbers.
Roman numerals chart: 1 to 20 and the tens to 100
Roman numerals from 1 to 20: 1 I, 2 II, 3 III, 4 IV, 5 V, 6 VI, 7 VII, 8 VIII, 9 IX, 10 X, 11 XI, 12 XII, 13 XIII, 14 XIV, 15 XV, 16 XVI, 17 XVII, 18 XVIII, 19 XIX, 20 XX.
The tens up to 100: 10 X, 20 XX, 30 XXX, 40 XL, 50 L, 60 LX, 70 LXX, 80 LXXX, 90 XC, 100 C. Every number from 1 to 99 is a tens part followed by a ones part from the first row: 37 is XXX + VII = XXXVII, 44 is XL + IV = XLIV, and 88 is LXXX + VIII = LXXXVIII, the longest numeral below 100.
Hundreds and thousands follow the same pattern one step up: 100 C, 200 CC, 300 CCC, 400 CD, 500 D, 600 DC, 700 DCC, 800 DCCC, 900 CM, then 1000 M, 2000 MM and 3000 MMM. Writing 4000 would need MMMM, four of a kind, which the standard form does not allow, so it stops at 3999. Larger numbers were once marked with a bar over a numeral, the vinculum, which multiplied it by 1000.
How are years and clock faces written in Roman numerals?
Years are written place by place like any other number: 1954 is MCMLIV and 2026 is MMXXVI. A slip can matter. The 1954 film The Last Time I Saw Paris carried the copyright year MCMXLIV, which is 1944; the 28-year term was counted from that date, the studio did not renew in time, and the film entered the public domain in the United States in 1972.
Many clock faces show four o'clock as IIII while still writing nine o'clock as IX. This is an old custom rather than the standard form, and it is far from universal: the clock on the Elizabeth Tower in London uses IV. Several explanations for IIII are told, and none of them is settled.
To check any numeral, use the free Roman numerals converter at VITON13 SCHOOL. Type digits from 1 to 3999 or Roman letters in any case, and it converts both ways as you type, showing every symbol as a tile and a pair such as IV as 5 − 1. A non-standard spelling such as IIII is explained, with the standard form offered. The tabs add a date converter with a choice of order and separator, the chart, the seven rules and a ten-question quiz, five questions each way.
In everyday language
Roman numerals work like paying with coins worth 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000: you lay out the biggest coins first and add them up. The one twist is the 4s and 9s, where you put the small coin in front to mean “one short”: IV is one short of five.
Try it yourself
Open the Roman numerals converter, type 2026, then open the Date tab and press Today.
Expected result
MMXXVI with a tile for each symbol, and today's date written as day, month and year in Roman numerals, joined by the separator you chose.
Check your answer: Write 1984 and 449 in Roman numerals.
1984 = 1000 + 900 + 80 + 4 = M + CM + LXXX + IV = MCMLXXXIV. 449 = 400 + 40 + 9 = CD + XL + IX = CDXLIX, not ID, because I may stand only before V or X.
Questions
What is the largest number in Roman numerals?
In the standard form, 3999, written MMMCMXCIX, because no symbol may appear four times in a row. Larger numbers were historically written with a bar over the symbols, which multiplied them by 1000, but that is outside the standard form.
Is there a zero in Roman numerals?
No. Standard Roman numerals have no symbol for zero and no negative numbers, so they cover whole numbers from 1 upwards.
Keep the chart handy, learn the six subtractive pairs, and test yourself with the free VITON13 SCHOOL converter and its ten-question quiz until you can read MCMXCIX at a glance.
Sources and further reading
- Roman numerals — Wikipedia ↗Sources checked:
- Roman Numerals — Wolfram MathWorld ↗Sources checked:
- The Scholarly Kitchen (2023): Roman numeral error shaved ten years off a movie's copyright ↗Sources checked: