Roman Numeral Converter
Convert numbers to roman numerals and back (1–3999), with the greedy decomposition and the subtractive rules shown step by step — plus a symbol chart.
Computed
The conversion and the full working are shown below.
Result
MCMXCIV
= 1994
Step-by-step solution
- 1
Identify the input
Convert the whole number 1994 to a roman numeral.
- 2
Break into roman values
Greedily subtract the largest symbol values, using the six subtractive pairs (IV, IX, XL, XC, CD, CM) where needed.
- 1000 → M
- 900 → CM
- 90 → XC
- 4 → IV
- 3
Result
1994 in roman numerals is MCMXCIV.
Roman numeral chart
SymbolValue
I1
V5
X10
L50
C100
D500
M1000
Subtractive pairs
IV4
IX9
XL40
XC90
CD400
CM900
About roman numerals
The roman system uses seven symbols — I = 1, V = 5, X = 10, L = 50, C = 100, D = 500 and M = 1000 — and simply adds them up, largest first: MMXXVI is 1000 + 1000 + 20 + 5 + 1 = 2026.
To avoid four identical symbols in a row, six subtractive pairs exist: IV = 4, IX = 9, XL = 40, XC = 90, CD = 400 and CM = 900 — a smaller symbol before a larger one is subtracted.
There is no symbol for zero, and the standard system ends at MMMCMXCIX = 3999; larger historical numbers used an overline to multiply a symbol by 1000.