What is a roman numerals?

Roman numerals are an ancient number system that uses seven letters as symbols. Symbols are written largest to smallest and added together, except for six subtractive pairs (such as IV = 4 and IX = 9) where a smaller symbol placed before a larger one is subtracted. There is no symbol for zero.

Examples

• XIV = 10 + 4 = 14.
• XL = 50 − 10 = 40.
• MMXXVI = 2026.

Quick facts

• The seven symbols are I=1, V=5, X=10, L=50, C=100, D=500, M=1000.
• Only I, X and C are used to subtract, giving IV, IX, XL, XC, CD and CM.
• A symbol is never repeated more than three times in a row, and there is no zero.