NumbersPatterns in the chart
- The ones repeat. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX come back in every row, after the tens part. 27 is XX and VII: XXVII.
- The tens follow the same shape as the ones, with X, L and C in place of I, V and X: X, XX, XXX, XL, L, LX, LXX, LXXX, XC.
- Fours and nines are the special ones. 4 is IV, 9 is IX, 40 is XL and 90 is XC. Everything else is plain adding.
- The longest numeral up to 100 is 88, LXXXVIII, with eight letters. The shortest are I, V, X, L and C.
Hundreds up to 1000
100 is C, 200 is CC, 300 is CCC, 400 is CD, 500 is D, 600 is DC, 700 is DCC, 800 is DCCC, 900 is CM, 1000 is M. The hundreds copy the pattern once more with C, D and M.
Some years
1857 is MDCCCLVII, 1947 is MCMXLVII, 1950 is MCML, 2000 is MM, 2026 is MMXXVI. To write a year, split it into thousands, hundreds, tens and ones and write each part.
How to learn the chart
Do not learn a hundred separate items. Learn the nine ones (I to IX) and the nine tens (X to XC), and practise joining them. Ask "what is 64?" and think: 60 is LX, 4 is IV, so LXIV. Reading is the reverse: split LXIV into LX and IV. Clock faces, chapter headings and class numbers are good everyday practice.
Where children slip
- Writing 40 as XXXX and 90 as LXXXX. No letter is used four times.
- Writing 49 as IL and 99 as IC. Split first: 40 + 9 is XLIX, and 90 + 9 is XCIX.
- Reading IX as 11. A smaller letter before a larger one is taken away.
The full rules are on the Roman numeral rules page. For practice sheets with answers, see Roman numeral worksheets.