Roman Numerals

The Numbers I-1 II-2 III-3 IV-4 V-5 VI-6 VII-7 VIII-8 IX-9 X-10 C-100 D-500 M-1000

If Front Letter is Smaller If there are two letters, one next to another, if the first number is smaller, then we subtract the first letter from the second. For example, If I have the letters IC, where the first letter is smaller, then we subtract it from the second. So here, we first have to figure out the first letter, I, and then the second, C. Well, we know that I is 1 and C is 100. So we subtract 1 from 100, and we get 99.

If Front Number is Bigger If there are two letters, one next to another, if the first number is bigger, then you add the first letter to the second. For example, If I have the letters MD, where the first letter is bigger, then we add the 1 st to the 2 nd. So here, we first have to figure out the first letter, M, and then the second, D. Well, we know that M is 1000 and D is 500. So we add 1000 and 500, and we get 1,500.

Multiple Letters When we are dealing with multiple letters we must go step by step. If we have XIX, a three letter numeral, we must first figure out the beginning, X. As we already know, X is 10. And the second part is IX. IX is nine because X is ten and I, the front number, is 1 which is smaller. So we subtract 1 from 10 which equals 9. So we have to now add 9 and, the first number 10, which is 19.

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