Roman Numeral Converter: Convert Numbers to Roman Numerals
Roman numerals are over 2,500 years old, and yet they appear all around us today: on clock faces, at the Super Bowl, in movie credits, on book prefaces, and in the names of monarchs and popes. Whether you need to decode MMXXIV or write 1999 as MCMXCIX, a Roman numeral converter gets the answer instantly.
Where Roman Numerals Appear Today
Super Bowl
Super Bowl LVIII (2024), Super Bowl LIX (2025)
Movie credits
Copyright years: © MMXXIV at the end of films
Clock faces
I through XII on traditional analog clocks
Book sections
Preface, introduction, and front matter: pages i, ii, iii, iv
Monarchs & Popes
King Charles III, Henry VIII, Pope John Paul II
Outlines & chapters
Chapter I, Part II, Section III in formal documents
The 7 Roman Numeral Symbols
The entire Roman numeral system is built from just seven letters, each with a fixed value:
I
1
V
5
X
10
L
50
C
100
D
500
M
1,000
All other numbers are formed by combining these symbols — either by adding or subtracting them.
The Subtraction Rule
The subtraction rule is what makes Roman numerals more compact than simply repeating symbols. When a smaller symbol appears immediately before a larger one, you subtract the smaller from the larger. There are exactly six subtraction combinations:
IV = 4
I before V
IX = 9
I before X
XL = 40
X before L
XC = 90
X before C
CD = 400
C before D
CM = 900
C before M
All other symbol combinations are additive. VI = 6, XI = 11, LX = 60, DC = 600. Only the six pairs above use subtraction.
How to Read Roman Numeral Clock Faces
Traditional clock faces use I through XII for the 12 hours. Interestingly, many clocks write 4 o'clock as IIII rather than IV — this is a deliberate stylistic choice for visual balance, as IIII mirrors the VIII on the opposite side of the clock face. It's one of the few cases where the subtraction rule is intentionally ignored. When reading a Roman numeral clock, just map each position: I=1, V=5, X=10 — the face only goes up to XII (12), so you only need the first three symbols.
Roman Numeral Reference Chart
| Arabic | Roman | Arabic | Roman |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I | 16 | XVI |
| 2 | II | 17 | XVII |
| 3 | III | 18 | XVIII |
| 4 | IV | 19 | XIX |
| 5 | V | 20 | XX |
| 6 | VI | 40 | XL |
| 7 | VII | 50 | L |
| 8 | VIII | 90 | XC |
| 9 | IX | 100 | C |
| 10 | X | 400 | CD |
| 11 | XI | 500 | D |
| 12 | XII | 900 | CM |
| 13 | XIII | 1000 | M |
| 14 | XIV | 1999 | MCMXCIX |
| 15 | XV | 2024 | MMXXIV |
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Open Roman Numeral Converter →Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Roman numerals 1–10?
The Roman numerals 1 through 10 are: I (1), II (2), III (3), IV (4), V (5), VI (6), VII (7), VIII (8), IX (9), X (10). Notice that 4 is IV (one before five) and 9 is IX (one before ten) — these use the subtraction rule rather than IIII or VIIII. This pattern repeats at higher values: 40 is XL, 90 is XC, 400 is CD, and 900 is CM.
How do you write 2024 in Roman numerals?
2024 in Roman numerals is MMXXIV. Breaking it down: MM = 2000 (two thousands), XX = 20 (two tens), IV = 4 (one before five). So MMXXIV = 2000 + 20 + 4 = 2024. Similarly, 2025 = MMXXV, 2026 = MMXXVI. Each new millennium adds an M, making years in the 2000s start with MM. The year 2000 itself is MM.
What does IV mean in Roman numerals?
IV means 4. It uses the subtraction principle: when a smaller numeral appears before a larger one, you subtract rather than add. I (1) before V (5) means 5 − 1 = 4. This principle applies in six specific combinations: IV = 4, IX = 9, XL = 40, XC = 90, CD = 400, CM = 900. All other combinations in Roman numerals are additive — VI = 6, XI = 11, LX = 60, etc. Roman numerals never subtract more than one symbol at a time, so 8 is VIII (not IIX) and 3 is III (not IIV).
Why do we still use Roman numerals?
Roman numerals persist because of tradition, aesthetics, and convention in specific domains. They appear on clock faces (I–XII) because Roman numerals look elegant on analog dials and have for centuries. Movie production years in credits use Roman numerals (e.g., MMXXIV) partly because studios found they were harder for audiences to read at a glance — preventing immediate dating of older films. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals (Super Bowl LVIII) because it gives each game a distinct, timeless identity. Book prefaces, volume numbers, monarchs (King Henry VIII, Pope John Paul II), and outline headings all use Roman numerals by long-standing convention.
What is the largest number in Roman numerals?
Using standard Roman numeral notation (no special extensions), the largest number representable is 3,999 = MMMCMXCIX. The system has no symbol larger than M (1,000), and repeating M more than three times was traditionally avoided. To represent larger numbers, Romans sometimes used a bar over a numeral to multiply it by 1,000 (V̄ = 5,000, M̄ = 1,000,000), but these extended forms are rarely used today. In modern usage, Roman numerals are almost never used for numbers above 4,999, and anything above 3,999 is typically written in Arabic numerals instead.