Roman Numerals

By the end of this lesson, you will read and write Roman numerals from I to M and recognize where they appear in modern life.

Roman numerals use seven letters, each representing a fixed value:

Memory device: I Value eXcellent Latin, Can Do Mathematics

Addition: place smaller values after larger ones and add them.

Subtraction: place a smaller value BEFORE a larger one to subtract. Only six subtractive combinations are standard:

By the end of this lesson, you will read and write Roman numerals from I to M and recognize where they appear in modern life.

Roman numerals use seven letters, each representing a fixed value:

Memory device: I Value eXcellent Latin, Can Do Mathematics

Addition: place smaller values after larger ones and add them.

Subtraction: place a smaller value BEFORE a larger one to subtract. Only six subtractive combinations are standard:

Context	Example
Super Bowl	Super Bowl LVIII (2024)
Movie sequels	Rocky II, Rocky IV, Star Wars Episode IX
Clock faces	Traditional clock faces often use IV for 4
Copyright dates	© MCMXCIX (1999) on films and TV
Outlines	I. Introduction, II. Body, III. Conclusion
Kings and popes	Henry VIII, Pope John Paul II, Louis XIV
Olympics	Rome 1960 = Games of the XVII Olympiad
Book chapters	Classical texts use Roman numerals for book/chapter numbers

Arabic	Roman	Arabic	Roman
1	I	11	XI
2	II	12	XII
3	III	13	XIII
4	IV	14	XIV
5	V	15	XV
6	VI	16	XVI
7	VII	17	XVII
8	VIII	18	XVIII
9	IX	19	XIX
10	X	20	XX

Value	Roman	Value	Roman
10	X	100	C
20	XX	200	CC
30	XXX	300	CCC
40	XL	400	CD
50	L	500	D
60	LX	600	DC
70	LXX	700	DCC
80	LXXX	800	DCCC
90	XC	900	CM