Read, Write, and Match Roman Numerals up to 50

The numbers that we use today are not the same as the ones the Romans used.

Roman numerals were used all over the Roman Empire.

In the United Kingdom, they are still used occasionally, for example, on film credits and clock faces.

Remember that the Romans didn’t have a symbol for the number 0.

The Romans used these symbols:

I  = 1

V = 5

X = 10

L = 50

All other numbers up to 50 can be built using these symbols by adding or subtracting.

You should know the following:

1	I
2	II
3	III
4	IV	I before V is 1 less than 5
5	V
6	VI	I after V is 1 more than 5
7	VII	II after V is 2 more than 5
8	VIII	III after V is 3 more than 5
9	IX	I before X is 1 less than 10
10	X
11	XI	I after X is 1 more than 10
12	XII	II after X is 2 more than 10

We build bigger numbers by adding 10s or Xs in Roman Numerals.

20	XX	= X + X = 20
21	XXI	= XX + I = 20 + 1
30	XXX	= X + X + X = 30
37	XXXVII	= XXX + VII = 30 + 7
40	XL	= X before L is 10 less than 50 or 50 – 10 = 40
48	XLVIII	= XL + VIII = 40 + 8 = 48
49	XLIX	= XL + IX = 40 + 9 = 49
50	L

The symbols C  D  M are used for even bigger numbers.

Now, let’s have a go!

Convert XLIV to digits.

Answer

XLIV = XL + IV = 40 + 4 = 44

What is 25 in Roman numerals?

X = 10

V = 5

X +  X + V = 10 + 10 + 5 = 25

XXV is the answer.