Roman Numerals is a special kind of numerical notation that was earlier used by the Romans.

The
Roman numeral is an additive and subtractive system in which letters are used to denote certain
base numbers and arbitrary numbers in the number system. An example of a roman numeral is
XLVII which is equivalent to 47 in numeric form. Roman numerals are denoted using a different
combination of symbols, that include the English alphabet. For example, 5 in roman numeral is
denoted by V. It has wide applications in naming anything such as Class I, Class II, Class X, etc.

What are Roman Numerals?

Roman numerals is an ancient number system that is still used in many places. In roman numerals,
alphabets are used to represent the fixed positive numbers. These roman numerals are I, II, III, IV,
V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X represent 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 respectively.

After 10, the roman numerals are followed by XI for 11, XII for 12, XII for 13, … till XX for 20. The
most common roman numerals that are presently used to represent the basic numbers are given
in the table below.

1 5 10 50 100 500 1000

I V X L C D M

Roman Letters

The roman letters are English alphabets but not all the alphabets are roman alphabets.
There are 23 roman alphabets out of 26 English alphabets, in which J, U and W are not
considered as roman alphabets. Hence, the roman alphabets are:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Y and Z. These roman letters are also
called roman symbols.
For example, the year 2019 is written as MMXIX.

Rules to Write Roman Numerals

There are certain rules to be followed if we have to represent a number in roman

numerals form. Please check the rules listed below.

• The value of the symbol is added to itself, as many times as it is repeated. (Eg. II – 2,
XX – 20 and XXX – 30).
• A symbol can be repeated only for three times, for example XXX = 30, CC = 200,
etc.
• Symbols V, L, and D are never repeated.
• When a symbol of smaller value appears after a symbol of greater value, its values
will be added. For example: VI = V + I = 5 + 1 = 6.
 • When a symbol of a smaller value appears before a greater value symbol, it will be
subtracted. For example: IX = X – I = 10 – 1 = 9.
• The symbols V, L, and D are never subtracted, as they are not written before a
greater value symbol.
• The symbol I can be subtracted from V and X only and symbol X can be
subtracted from symbols L, M and C only.

Converting Roman Numerals to Numbers

Rule 1: If one or more symbols are placed after another letter of greater value, add that
amount.

• VII = 7 (5 + 2 = 7)
• LXXX = 80 (50 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 80)
• MCCC = 1300 (1000+100 + 100 + 100 = 1300)

Rule 2: If a symbol is placed before another letter of greater value, subtract that amount.

• CM = 900 (1000 – 100 = 900)

• IX = 9 (10 – 1 = 9)
• XC = 90 (100 – 10 = 90)

Rule 3: 1000 is replaced by a bar in the case of roman numerals

OTHER MULTIPLIERS FOR ROMAN NUMERALS:

Brackets: (multiply by 100)

Example: |V| = 500

Vinculum or Bar: (multiply by 1,000)

̅ = 5000
Example: V

Doorframe: (multiply by 1,000,000)

Example: ⌈V⌉ = 5,000,000