Roman numerals, the numeric system used in ancient Rome, use combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The ancient Romans invented the Roman numeric system in 500 BC to represent numbers and do basic math like addition and subtraction. They used seven different letters as symbols to represent numbers, which were placed according to their numeric values. These letters are M=1000, D=500, C=100, L=50, X=10, V=5, and I=1.
Nowadays, we primarily use the Indo-Arabic or Hindu-Arabic number system for math, calculation, programming, and other things. However, even in the modern world, the Roman number system has its uses in various situations, such as mathematics, art, architecture, clocks, and calendars. We use the Roman number system from clocks and watches to buildings and dams for marking the date or water level. That’s why the ancient number system is still useful even today. Therefore, everyone should have basic knowledge of Roman numerals, such as how to write an Indo-Arabic number in Roman numerals or how to read a Roman number.
For this reason, we have created this website to solve all your problems regarding Roman numerals, such as how to write 2022 in Roman numerals or how to read XLVI in Roman numerals. In today’s article, we will learn how to write an Indo-Arabic number in Roman numerals and how to read a Roman number. This way, you can easily convert any number to the Roman number system and read any Roman number with ease.
How To Write An Indo-Arabic Number In Roman Numerals
If you want to write an Indo-Arabic (Hindu-Arabic) number in Roman numerals, you only need to know two things. First, you have to know the value of each Roman symbol. Second, you have to know some basics of adding and subtracting Roman numerals.
Roman numerals represent a number based on seven letters: I, V, X, L, C, D, and M. These letters represent the values 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1000, respectively. For easier and faster calculations, you can memorize 4 as IV, 9 as IX, 40 as XL, 90 as XC, 400 as CD, and 900 as CM. The value of these letters can be multiplied by 1000 by adding a bar above them (e.g., V̅ = 5000). By adding and subtracting these letters, you can convert an Indo-Arabic number to a Roman number.
You can add Roman symbols by placing a smaller or equal symbol after a larger symbol. For example, you can write “VI” to represent the number 6. You can only add the symbols I, X, C, and M up to three times in a row. For example, you can write “VIII” to represent the number 8, with the “V” symbol representing 5 and the “III” symbol representing 3. However, you cannot add the symbols L, V, and D with another L, V, and D, such as “LL” or “DD”. By following these steps, you can write any number in Roman numerals, except those that contain the number 9 or 4. For these numbers, you can memorize 4 as IV, 9 as IX, 40 as XL, 90 as XC, 400 as CD, and 900 as CM.
Here is a example of how to convert a big number in Roman numerals.
At first you need to split the number into ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, and so on. For example, to convert 953 to Roman numerals:
900 + 50 + 3 = 953
Then replace those numbers with equivalent Roman symbols:
CM + L + III = CMLIII
Here are some more examples of converting an Indo-Arabic number to Roman numerals:-
- 37 in Roman Numerals
- 114 in Roman Numerals
- 256 in Roman Numerals
- 572 in Roman Numerals
- 1954 in Roman Numerals
- 1996 in Roman Numerals
How to write a Roman numeral in numbers
Writing a Roman numeral in Indo-Arabic numbers is very easy. You just need to follow four steps. For example, to convert LXXIV to numbers follow these steps.
First of all, break down LXXIV as below.
LXXIV = L, X, X, I, V
Then replace the Roman symbols with their equivalent values.
L, X, X, I, V = 50, 10, 10, 1, 5
Here comes the tricky part. Read the numbers from left to right. If you find a number greater than the previous number, then subtract the previous number from it (e.g., 100, 10, 50 = 100, (50-10) = 100, 40).
50, 10, 10, 1, 5 = 50, 10, 10, (5 – 1) = 50, 10, 10, 4
In the final step, add the numbers together.
50, 10, 10, 4 = 50 + 10 + 10 + 4 = 74
Here are some more examples of converting a Roman numeral to Indo-Arabic number:-