Roman Numeral Converter

Seven letters carry a value: I is 1, V is 5, X is 10, L is 50, C is 100, D is 500, M is 1000. Write the largest values first and add them up. A letter may repeat at most three times, which is why 4 is not IIII. When a smaller letter stands before a larger one it is subtracted instead: IV is 4, IX is 9, XL is 40, XC is 90, CD is 400, CM is 900. Only those six pairs are used, and only I, X and C are ever subtracted, so 99 is XCIX and never IC. The system has no zero and no fractions of the kind we write with a decimal point, which is one reason it lost to the digits we use now.

What is 2026 in Roman numerals?

MMXXVI. That is M and M for two thousand, X and X for twenty, V for five and I for one.

Why is 4 written IV and not IIII?

Because a letter is not repeated four times in the standard system, so the one is written before the five and subtracted. Clock faces are the famous exception: many use IIII for four, apparently for visual balance against the VIII opposite it.

What is the largest Roman numeral?

MMMCMXCIX, which is 3,999. Beyond that the Romans drew a bar over a letter to multiply it by a thousand, so a barred V is five thousand. There is no agreed way to type that with ordinary letters, so most converters stop at 3,999.

Is there a Roman numeral for zero?

No. The system counts things, and nothing needs no symbol. Medieval scholars writing in Latin sometimes used the letter N, for nulla, meaning none.

Why is 99 XCIX and not IC?

Subtraction only works one step down the scale: I can be taken from V or X, X from L or C, and C from D or M. So 99 is built as 90 plus 9, which is XC then IX.

How do I read a long numeral quickly?

Go left to right and compare each letter with the one after it. If it is smaller than the next, subtract it. Otherwise add it. MCMXCIV is 1000, then 100 before 1000 so minus 100 plus 1000, then 10 before 100, then 1 before 5: 1994.