First, make note of the current numeral you are at, then compare it to the one on its right. To convert a Roman numeral to an Arabic numeral, you need to sum up all roman numbers from left to right. Conversion of Roman numerals to Arabic numerals
Due to their still fairly extensive use, the need to convert a Roman numeral to an Arabic one or vice versa: an Arabic number to a Roman number, is still quite common. They can also be seen on plaques with construction years on building faces and cornerstones. Elizabeth II, as well as generational suffixes where the same name is often shared across generations. They are also frequently used when writing down names of popes or monarchs, e.g.
Roman numerals can be seen on clock faces, as chapter numbers in books, papers, etc., as movie sequels. Our Roman number converter handles all of this for your convenience. Note that we do not write 40 as XXXX as it takes more space than XL. Similarly, XC is 90: X(10) is to the left of C(100), so we subtract 10 from 100 to get 90. So, IV results in 4 since we subtract I from V = 5 - 1 = 4.
This is the so-called "subtractive notation". However, if a number of a lower numerical value is written to the left of a number with a higher numerical value, it needs to be subtracted. Numbers with a higher numerical value are generally written to the left of ones with a lower numerical value. The Roman system is not positional, but the order of the numbers does matter. Roman numbers are also in use today, even though their replacement by the more convenient Arabic numerals began as early as the 14-th century. Each of them corresponds to a whole positive number, as you can see in the conversion table below. In the Roman system numerals are represented by combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, particularly: I, V, X, L, C, D, and M. The Roman numeric system originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages due to the vast influence of Greco-Roman culture over the European civilization.