Roman Numerals
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Convert a number to Roman numerals, or read a numeral back as a number.
- Type either a number or a Roman numeral
- The converter works out which way round you meant
- Copy the result
About this tool
Type 1994 and get MCMXCIV. Type MCMXCIV and get 1994. There is no mode to set, because there is nothing to ask: a numeral is unmistakably a numeral and a number is unmistakably a number, and a switch would only ever be a control that gets left on the wrong setting. Reading is deliberately forgiving. Clock faces use IIII, medieval manuscripts use all sorts, and there was never an ancient standard at all — the strict rules are a modern tidying-up. So anything unambiguous is read, and if what you typed is not the strict modern form the tool says so rather than refusing it. Being told your input is wrong when every human reader understands it is the least useful thing a converter can do. Writing always produces the strict form, which is what somebody putting a date on a building or a chapter heading actually wants. The range is 1 to 3999. There is no zero and no negative — the numeral system has no symbol for either — and above 3999 you need overlines for thousands, which are typography rather than text. Saying that is more useful than emitting MMMM and pretending.
Frequently asked questions
Why does it stop at 3999?
Because 4000 needs an overline over the IV to mean four thousand, and an overline is typography rather than a character you can type in a text box. MMMM is sometimes used but is not standard. Stopping honestly is better than emitting something that only half means what it says.
Is IIII wrong?
Not really. It is on plenty of clock faces and in plenty of manuscripts, and there was no ancient standard to break. This tool reads it as 4 and tells you it is not the strict modern form — which is different from telling you it is wrong.
Why is there no zero?
The system has no symbol for it. Roman numerals grew out of counting and tallying, where nothing does not need writing down, and zero as a number arrived in Europe centuries later. The same goes for negatives and fractions.
How do subtractive pairs work?
A smaller symbol before a larger one is subtracted: IV is 4, IX is 9, XC is 90, CM is 900. That is the rule that makes MCMXCIV read as 1000 + 900 + 90 + 4. Everything else adds up left to right.
Can I convert a year?
That is the most common use — MMXXVI for 2026, film copyright dates, cornerstones, chapter numbers. Any year from 1 to 3999 works, which covers everything anybody puts on a building.
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