Roman Numeral Converter
Convert Roman numerals to numbers and numbers to Roman numerals free — with a date mode for tattoos, numbers past 3,999, and the spelling checked and explained.
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MCMXCIV
Adds up as
M (1,000) + CM (900) + XC (90) + IV (4)Value
1,994The seven letters
I1
V5
X10
L50
C100
D500
M1,000
Letters are written largest first and added up, except for the six subtractions — IV (4), IX (9), XL (40), XC (90), CD (400) and CM (900) — where a smaller letter placed in front is taken away instead. I, X, C and M may repeat up to three times; V, L and D never repeat. There is no zero and no fraction. Everything here is worked out in your browser, and nothing you type is uploaded or stored.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I write a date in Roman numerals?
- Write the day, the month and the year each as its own numeral and join them with a separator — a middle dot is the usual choice for a tattoo, though a full stop, a slash or a dash all appear. 25 December 1990 written day first is XXV·XII·MCMXC. Nothing is padded, because Roman numerals have no leading zero: the fifth of the month is V, not 0V. The Date tab here does all three parts at once and lets you switch between day-first, month-first and year-first order.
- Is four written IV or IIII?
- IV is the standard form and the one to use. IIII is not a mistake exactly — it is the older additive spelling, and it still appears on the great majority of clock and watch faces, where IIII balances the VIII opposite it. This tool reads both, gives you the same number for either, and tells you which one is the standard spelling rather than refusing the other outright.
- How do you write numbers above 3,999?
- With a bar over the numeral, called a vinculum, which multiplies it by 1,000. So 4,000 is a barred IV rather than MMMM, and 1,000,000 is a barred M. The tool writes anything up to 3,999,999 that way. Above that a second bar would be needed and there is no notation people agree on, so it stops there rather than inventing one. Bear in mind the bar only survives copying as a combining character, which some fonts draw better than others.
- What do MCMXCIV and MMXXVI mean?
- MCMXCIV is 1994 and MMXXVI is 2026. Read MCMXCIV in four pieces: M is 1,000, CM is 1,000 − 100 = 900, XC is 100 − 10 = 90, and IV is 5 − 1 = 4. Add them and you get 1,994. The Roman → Number tab shows that working for whatever you paste in, so you can see where each piece came from.
- Is there a Roman numeral for zero?
- No. Roman arithmetic had no symbol for zero and no way to write a negative number or a fraction of one, which is why a Roman numeral clock has no 0 and why the tool refuses those inputs instead of guessing. Medieval scribes working in Latin wrote the word nulla when they needed to record nothing at all.
- Is anything I type stored?
- No. Every conversion runs in your browser — a date or a number you type never leaves your device, and there is no signup.