Roman Numerals Chart: 1 to 100 and Easy Reading Rules
A Roman numerals chart is the fastest way to recognise a numeral at a glance. This guide lists the standard numerals from 1 to 100 and pairs the chart with the two rules you actually need, reading left to right and subtracting a smaller symbol before a larger one. Keep it handy for dates, book chapters, movie years, and clock faces.
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Try the Roman Numeral ConverterRoman Numeral Chart: 1 to 100
The chart below shows the standard Roman numerals from 1 to 100. The pattern repeats through tens, so once you know the ones and tens you can build and read anything in this range. I is 1, II is 2, III is 3, IV is 4, V is 5, VI is 6, VII is 7, VIII is 8, IX is 9, and X is 10. From 10 the tens use X and its subtractive pairs: XX is 20, XXX is 30, XL is 40, L is 50, LX is 60, LXX is 70, LXXX is 80, XC is 90, and C is 100.
Reading Any Numeral in Two Steps
You never need to memorise the whole chart. Read each numeral left to right, adding each symbol. When a smaller symbol appears before a larger one, subtract it instead. In LXXI, read L as 50, XX as 20, and I as 1, adding to 71. In XCIV, subtract the X from the C to get 90, then subtract the I from the V to get 4, giving 94. These two steps handle every numeral up to 3999.
The Chart Around the Tricky Boundaries
The numbers that trip people up are the ones that use subtraction rather than addition. Four is IV and not IIII, nine is IX and not VIIII, forty is XL and not XXXX, and ninety is XC and not LXXXX. These boundaries are exactly where the chart helps most. Commit the pairs 4, 9, 40, 90, and then 400 and 900, and every other numeral builds from the same pattern.
Reading Years and Dates With the Same Chart
Years are the most common use for Roman numerals, and the chart scales up naturally. Break a year into place values, convert each chunk, and join them. The year 2024 splits into 2000 (MM), 20 (XX), and 4 (IV), so it is MMXXIV. A movie copyright of MCMXCIV reads as 1000 plus 900 plus 90 plus 4, or 1994. The same chart logic handles any date you meet.
When to Use the Converter Instead
The chart is for reading and reference, but a converter is faster for turning your own numbers into numerals or decoding a long string of symbols. If you are unsure of a subtraction pair, or you need a number above 3999, the converter does the work instantly and checks itself, so you never submit a wrong milestone year or date.
Worked Example
Read the numeral MCMXC to a number. Scan left to right: M is 1000, the CM subtracts to give 900, and the XC subtracts to give 90. Adding them gives 1000 plus 900 plus 90, which is 1990. So MCMXC is 1990.
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