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Home › Chart guides › Roman Numerals Chart
Roman numerals use just seven symbols, I, V, X, L, C, D and M, and six subtractive pairs such as IV and XC. This chart lists the symbols, one to twenty, the tens, hundreds and thousands, some well-known years, and the rules for reading and writing any number up to 3,999.
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The seven symbols, the rules, and every number you are likely to meet.
| Numeral | Value |
|---|---|
| I | 1 |
| V | 5 |
| X | 10 |
| L | 50 |
| C | 100 |
| D | 500 |
| M | 1,000 |
| Numeral | Value |
|---|---|
| IV | 4 |
| IX | 9 |
| XL | 40 |
| XC | 90 |
| CD | 400 |
| CM | 900 |
These six are the only subtractive forms in standard use: IV is 5 minus 1 and XC is 100 minus 10. Anything else you see, such as IIII on a clock face, is an older or a local habit rather than a different rule.
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 10 | X |
| 20 | XX |
| 30 | XXX |
| 40 | XL |
| 50 | L |
| 60 | LX |
| 70 | LXX |
| 80 | LXXX |
| 90 | XC |
| 100 | C |
| 200 | CC |
| 300 | CCC |
| 400 | CD |
| 500 | D |
| 600 | DC |
| 700 | DCC |
| 800 | DCCC |
| 900 | CM |
| 1000 | M |
| 2000 | MM |
| 3000 | MMM |
Build any number by adding these together, largest first: 1984 is M + CM + LXXX + IV, written MCMLXXXIV.
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 1066 | MLXVI |
| 1215 | MCCXV |
| 1492 | MCDXCII |
| 1620 | MDCXX |
| 1776 | MDCCLXXVI |
| 1815 | MDCCCXV |
| 1865 | MDCCCLXV |
| 1901 | MCMI |
| 3999 | MMMCMXCIX |
| Read it left to right | XVI is 10 + 5 + 1, which is 16. |
| Smaller before larger subtracts | IV is 4, IX is 9, XC is 90. |
| Never four of a symbol in a row | 4 is IV, not IIII. |
| V, L and D never repeat at all | but I, X, C and M may, up to three. |
| Only I, X and C are subtracted | and only from the next two symbols. |
| There is no zero | and no negative numbers, and no fractions. |
| The largest is 3,999 | MMMCMXCIX. Past that took a bar over the top. |
The forms were checked against the tables published by mathsisfun.com and against the worked examples in the English Wikipedia article on Roman numerals.
The bar over a numeral that multiplies it by a thousand is not shown here; it is rare in modern use and this sheet stops at 3,999, which is as far as the plain letters go.
There is no symbol for zero, and no way of writing a fraction or a negative number.