Roman Numerals Facts for Kids

Roman numerals quick facts

• Roman numerals use seven letters: I, V, X, L, C, D and M.
• There is no Roman numeral for zero.
• The ancient Romans often wrote 4 as IIII, not IV.
• A bar over a numeral multiplied it by 1,000.
• The Super Bowl has used Roman numerals since Super Bowl V in 1971.

What are Roman numerals?

Roman numerals are a way of writing numbers using letters. They were used by the ancient Romans, more than 2,000 years ago, and people across Europe used them for many centuries afterwards.

Today, we usually write numbers with the digits 0 to 9. But Roman numerals have not disappeared. You can still spot them on clocks, buildings, films, sports events and even the names of kings and queens.

Once you learn a few simple rules, reading them is like cracking a code. This guide will show you how, and share some surprising facts along the way.

The seven symbols

Roman numerals use just seven letters. Wolfram MathWorld lists them like this:

Roman numeral	Value
I	1
V	5
X	10
L	50
C	100
D	500
M	1,000

Every number is made by putting these letters together. For example, two ones make II, which is 2, and three tens make XXX, which is 30.

There is one big surprise. NRICH, a maths website from the University of Cambridge, says there is no symbol for zero in Roman numerals.

Rule one: add them up

When the symbols go from the biggest to the smallest, you add them together. NRICH gives examples like these.

XII is 10 + 1 + 1, which makes 12. CI is 100 + 1, which makes 101. VI is 5 + 1, which makes 6.

So when you see a bigger symbol followed by smaller ones, just keep adding as you read from left to right.

Rule two: take away

Sometimes a smaller symbol comes before a bigger one. Then you subtract it, NRICH explains.

IV is 5 take away 1, which makes 4. IX is 10 take away 1, which makes 9. In the same way, XL is 40, XC is 90, CD is 400 and CM is 900.

This subtraction trick keeps numerals shorter. Without it, you would have to write 9 as VIIII.

Let’s try some examples

Here are some numbers written as Roman numerals, from NRICH:

55 is LV: 50 plus 5. 86 is LXXXVI: 50, plus three tens, plus 5, plus 1.

Now for some years. 1976 is MCMLXXVI, 1984 is MCMLXXXIV and 2023 is MMXXIII.

Let’s break down 1984, MCMLXXXIV. M is 1,000. CM is 1,000 take away 100, which is 900. LXXX is 50 plus three tens, which is 80. IV is 4. Add them up: 1,000 + 900 + 80 + 4 = 1984.

This year, 2026, is MMXXVI: two thousands, two tens, a five and a one.

Some years are really long. NRICH says 1999 is MCMXCIX. Imagine trying to do sums with numbers like that.

But some numbers are shorter in Roman numerals. NRICH points out that 1001 is just MI, two symbols instead of four digits, and 2000 is simply MM.

A number system with no zero

The Romans, like the ancient Greeks, had no symbol for zero. NRICH says this made calculating much harder.

Roman numerals also have no place value. In our number 505, the first 5 means five hundreds because of where it sits. In Roman numerals, a symbol means the same amount wherever it is.

So who invented zero? NRICH says the Babylonians were the first to use a zero in a number system, about 2,400 years ago. The Maya of Central America invented a zero separately. And in India, people developed a number system with zero and place value, which Arab traders later carried to Europe. Find out more in our guide to when zero was created.

Where did Roman numerals come from?

Nobody knows for sure. Wolfram MathWorld says historians know very little about where Roman numerals first came from.

Long ago, people all over the world kept count by cutting notches in sticks, called tally sticks. Some people think Roman numerals may have grown out of simple marks like these. Tally sticks and Roman numerals were both used in Europe until the Renaissance, around 500 years ago.

Writing really big numbers

How did the Romans write very large numbers? Wolfram MathWorld says they drew a line over a numeral to multiply it by 1,000. So a V with a bar over it meant 5,000.

A box shape around a numeral, open at the bottom, multiplied it by 100,000.

The Romans also wrote 1,000 as (I), 10,000 as ((I)) and 100,000 as (((I))). Wolfram MathWorld says using the letter M for 1,000 only became common in the Middle Ages.

The Romans often wrote IIII

Here is a fact that surprises many people. Wolfram MathWorld says the ancient Romans hardly ever used the subtraction rule. They would often write 4 as IIII, not IV.

The subtraction forms, like IV and IX, only became popular in Europe after the printing press was invented, in the 1400s. So the “rule” we learn today is not quite how the Romans themselves usually wrote.

How our digits took over

Our everyday digits, 1, 2, 3 and so on, are called Hindu-Arabic numerals. The MacTutor history of mathematics site at the University of St Andrews says they first appeared in a European book in 976, in a manuscript copied by a monk in Spain.

A famous Italian mathematician helped spread them. In 1202, Leonardo of Pisa, known today as Fibonacci, published a book called Liber Abaci, which taught Europeans the nine Indian figures plus a sign for zero.

The change was slow. MacTutor says Europe was still slow to accept the new digits even in the 1400s. Some people worried that the new digits were easier to forge or change than Roman numerals.

Where we still see Roman numerals

Roman numerals are all around us. Look out for them in these places.

Buildings: many old buildings, especially in Europe, show the year they were built in Roman numerals.

The Statue of Liberty: the tablet in her left hand reads JULY IV MDCCLXXVI, which means 4 July 1776, the date of American independence.

Names: Roman numerals tell apart people with the same name, like King Henry VIII or Queen Elizabeth II.

Films: Wolfram MathWorld says films often show the year they were made in Roman numerals at the end of the credits.

The Super Bowl: NFL.com says American football’s biggest game has used Roman numerals since Super Bowl V in January 1971. In 2016, the game was called Super Bowl 50 instead of Super Bowl L, but the next year it went back to Roman numerals with Super Bowl LI.

The clock mystery

Many clock faces use Roman numerals, including the famous clock on the Elizabeth Tower in London, which holds the bell called Big Ben.

Look closely at a clock with Roman numerals, and you may spot something odd. The Seiko Museum says most of them show 4 as IIII, not IV.

This is not a mistake. The Seiko Museum says the clock at Wells Cathedral in England, from the late 1300s, already used IIII, and IIII was the usual way to show 4 on tower clocks until about the 1600s.

Nobody knows the real reason. One story says a French king, Charles V, ordered a clockmaker to use IIII, because IV looked like “5 minus 1”, and he was Charles the Fifth. Another idea is that IV looks too much like VI.

The Seiko Museum thinks the most likely reason is simply that IIII looks more balanced on a round clock face, opposite the VIII on the other side.

Try it yourself

Now it is your turn. Can you write your age in Roman numerals? What about the year you were born?

Here is a tip: start with the biggest symbols you can, and work your way down. Remember that 4s and 9s usually use the subtraction rule, like IV, IX, XL, XC, CD and CM.

Practice puzzles

Let’s work through some trickier numbers together, step by step.

49: start with 40, which is XL (50 take away 10). Then add 9, which is IX (10 take away 1). So 49 is XLIX.

94: 90 is XC (100 take away 10), and 4 is IV. So 94 is XCIV.

444: 400 is CD (500 take away 100), 40 is XL, and 4 is IV. Put them together and 444 is CDXLIV.

3,888: this one is long. It is MMM for 3,000, DCCC for 800, LXXX for 80 and VIII for 8, making MMMDCCCLXXXVIII. That is 15 symbols for a four-digit number.

Notice how the numeral is built from left to right: thousands first, then hundreds, then tens, then ones. Once you split a number into those parts, each part is easy.

Want to learn how the Romans themselves used numbers? UNRV, a website about Roman history, has more about Roman numerals in daily life.

Three things people get wrong

The Romans did not always write 4 as IV. They often wrote IIII.

Roman numerals do not have a zero. There is no symbol for it at all.

Clocks with IIII are not wrong. Clockmakers have used IIII for hundreds of years.

Frequently asked questions

What are the seven Roman numerals?

The seven Roman numerals are I (1), V (5), X (10), L (50), C (100), D (500) and M (1,000). All other numbers are made by combining them.

How do you read Roman numerals?

Add the symbols when they go from biggest to smallest, like VI = 6. Subtract a smaller symbol that comes before a bigger one, like IV = 4.

Is there a zero in Roman numerals?

No. Roman numerals have no symbol for zero and no place value, which made calculating harder for the Romans.

Why do clocks show IIII instead of IV?

Nobody knows for sure. IIII was the usual way to show 4 on old tower clocks, and it may simply look more balanced on a round face.

How do you write 2026 in Roman numerals?

2026 is MMXXVI: MM for 2,000, XX for 20 and VI for 6.

Where do we still use Roman numerals?

On clock faces, old buildings, film credits, the Super Bowl, and in names such as King Henry VIII or Queen Elizabeth II.

Sources

• Wolfram MathWorld: Roman numerals — the symbols, large numbers, the history of subtraction and IIII
• NRICH, University of Cambridge: Roman numerals — reading and writing numerals, with worked examples
• NRICH, University of Cambridge: a story about absolutely nothing — no zero or place value, and the history of zero
• MacTutor, University of St Andrews: Arabic numerals — how Hindu-Arabic numerals reached Europe and Fibonacci’s book
• The Seiko Museum Ginza: why clocks use IIII — IIII on clocks, the Wells Cathedral clock and the possible reasons
• NFL.com: Super Bowl 50 and Roman numerals — Roman numerals in Super Bowl names