Roman numeral | Chart & Facts (2024)

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Top Questions

What are Roman numerals?

Roman numerals are the symbols used in a system of numerical notation based on the ancient Roman system. The symbols are I, V, X, L, C, D, and M, standing respectively for 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000.

What are Roman numerals used for today?

Examples of the use of Roman numerals today include the denotation of book chapters, the title of each year’s National Football League Super Bowl as well as the titles of Summer and Winter Olympics, and the marking of hours on clock faces.

How do Roman numerals work?

In the Roman numeral system, the symbols I, V, X, L, C, D, and M stand respectively for 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 in the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. A symbol placed after another of equal or greater value adds its value. A symbol placed before one of greater value subtracts its value. A bar placed over a number multiplies its value by 1,000.

Where do Roman numerals come from?

As in all such matters, the origin of the Roman numeral system of numerical notation is obscure, although the changes in their forms since the 3rd century BCE are well known. Roman numerals were likely developed as a result of a need for a common method of counting in order to better conduct trade.

Is it still important to learn Roman numerals?

Despite the impracticality of using Roman numerals for mathematical calculations, which led to the widespread use of the Hindu-Arabic numeral system we know today, some people do still argue for the importance of teaching Roman numerals in schools. Proponents believe that Roman numerals have enduring cultural relevance, as seen in their continued use in sporting event titles and book chapters. Learn more.

Roman numeral, any of the symbols used in a system of numerical notation based on the ancient Roman system. The symbols are I, V, X, L, C, D, and M, standing respectively for 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 in the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. A symbol placed after another of equal or greater value adds its value—e.g., II = 1 + 1 = 2 and LVIII = 50 + 5 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 58. Usually only three identical symbols can be used consecutively; to express numbers beginning with a 4 or a 9, a symbol is placed before one of greater value to subtract its value—e.g., IV = −1 + 5 = 4, XC = −10 + 100 = 90, and MCMLXXXIX = 1,000 −100 + 1,000 + 50 + 10 + 10 + 10 −1 +10 = 1,989. The exceptions are 4,000, which is sometimes written as MMMM, and clocks, which usually display 4 as IIII. A bar called a vinculum placed over a number multiplies its value by 1,000.

Below is a table of Arabic numerals and their Roman numeral equivalents.

More From BritannicaIs It Still Important to Learn Roman Numerals?
Arabic and Roman numerals
Arabic Roman
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
21 XXI
22 XXII
23 XXIII
24 XXIV
30 XXX
40 XL
50 L
60 LX
70 LXX
80 LXXX
90 XC
100 C
101 CI
102 CII
200 CC
300 CCC
400 CD
500 D
600 DC
700 DCC
800 DCCC
900 CM
1,000 M
1,001 MI
1,002 MII
1,900 MCM
2,000 MM
2,001 MMI
2,002 MMII
2,100 MMC
3,000 MMM
4,000 IV or MMMM
5,000 V

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.

Roman numeral | Chart & Facts (2024)

FAQs

Roman numeral | Chart & Facts? ›

The numerical system of Roman letters consists of 7 Latin letters. They are I, V, X, L, C, D, and M. Here I represents 1, V represents 5, X represents 10, L represents 50, C represents 100, D represents 500, and M represents 1000.

What are some interesting facts about Roman numerals? ›

As a non-positional numeral system, Roman numerals have no "place-keeping" zeros. Furthermore, the system as used by the Romans lacked a numeral for the number zero itself (that is, what remains after 1 is subtracted from 1).

What are the 7 rules of Roman numerals? ›

Rules for Roman Numerals
  • Rule 1: When a smaller symbol is after a greater symbol, it's added.
  • Rule 2: If a symbol comes after itself, it's added.
  • Rule 3: When a smaller symbol appears before a greater symbol, it is subtracted.
  • Rule 4: The same symbol cannot be used more than three times in a row.
May 3, 2023

What each Roman numeral stands for? ›

The Roman numeral system uses only seven symbols: I, V, X, L, C, D, and M. I represents the number 1, V represents 5, X is 10, L is 50, C is 100, D is 500, and M is 1,000. Different arrangements of these seven symbols represent different numbers. The numbers 1–10 are: 1 = I.

Who invented Roman numerals and why? ›

The origin of Roman numerals can be traced back to ancient Rome. The Roman numeral system is believed to have evolved around the 7th century BCE from the Etruscan numeral system, which itself had roots in the ancient Greek numeral system.

Why are Roman numerals important in everyday life? ›

Roman numerals can be found in instructional materials, movie credits for copyright dates, clock faces, book chapter numbers, and badges denoting the year of construction.

What does l stand for in Roman numerals? ›

here are the commonly used Roman numerals: I = 1. L = 50 M = 1000. V = 5. C = 100.

What is the rule #1 in Roman numerals? ›

Rule #1: When reading Roman Numerals, the value of the number is added from left to right if the left numeral is greater than the right numeral. Rule #2: If the left numeral is smaller than the right numeral, subtract the value of the left value from the right numeral.

Which Roman numeral is never repeated? ›

While writing a Roman numeral, only the numerals I, X, C and M can be repeated. V, L and D cannot be repeated.

What is the only number without a Roman numeral? ›

There is no zero in Roman numerals. Who invented zero, and when?

What does d mean in Roman Numerals? ›

The number 500 in Roman Numerals is directly represented by the letter D. Hence, there is no method to perform addition or subtraction for D Roman Numerals. Thus, the numerical value of D Roman Numerals is 500.

How to understand Roman Numerals? ›

In roman numerals, alphabets are used to represent the fixed positive numbers. These roman numerals are I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X represent 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 respectively. After 10, the roman numerals are followed by XI for 11, XII for 12, XII for 13, … till XX for 20.

Why does V stand for 5? ›

There are seven symbols (alphabets) used in the Roman Numeral system. They are I, V, X , L, C, D and M. They represent the numbers 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 respectively. Since the number 5 is a part of these 7 symbols, we represent the number 5 as V.

Did you know facts about Roman numerals? ›

The Roman numeral system uses seven letters as numerals: I = 1; V = 5; X = 10; L = 50; C = 100; D = 500; M = 1,000. The numerals can be written as either capital or lowercase letters. A bar over a numeral multiplies its value by 1,000: for example, V = 5,000 and X = 10,000.

What does Z mean in Roman numerals? ›

Z, Symbol. the 26th in order or in a series, or, when I is omitted, the 25th. (sometimes l.c.) the medieval Roman numeral for 2000. Cf. Roman numerals.

Why are Roman numerals interesting? ›

Roman numerals are still used today. A few examples include to mark the year of construction on building cornerstones or to signify annual events such as the Super Bowl. They are also used as generational suffixes, like in John Smith III (the third). In mathematics, Roman numerals are used in the coordinate plane.

How old is Roman numerals? ›

The system dates back about 2,000 years, to the time of ancient Rome. Roman numerals have been mostly replaced by Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3…).

What is the highest Roman numeral? ›

Roman Numeral FAQs

The highest number that can be expressed in Roman numerals is actually 3,999. This is written as MMMCMXCIX. This is because the number 4,000 would have to be written as MMMM, which goes against the principle of not having four consecutive letters of the same type together.

Did Roman numerals have a zero? ›

But the word NULLA (the Latin word meaning "none") used to represent the number zero as 0 does not have its own Roman numeral. Thus, there is no zero(0) in the Roman numeral system.

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