Year 5 · Place value
Read and write Roman numerals up to 1,000
Definition
Roman numerals write numbers with letters: I is 1, V is 5, X is 10, L is 50, C is 100, D is 500 and M is 1000. Letters add together (XVI is 16), but a smaller letter before a bigger one subtracts (IX is 9).
Why Do I Have to Learn This?
Roman numerals still appear on clocks, films and chapter headings. Reading them connects you to how people counted for thousands of years.
Key Rules:
- 1. Add when letters get smaller left to right: XV is 10 + 5 = 15.
- 2. Subtract when a smaller letter sits before a bigger one: IV is 4, IX is 9, XL is 40, XC is 90.
- 3. Never repeat a letter more than three times: 4 is IV, not IIII.
Remember:
- •Common slip: reading IX as 11, the I comes first so it subtracts, giving 9.
- •Clock faces sometimes break the rule and show IIII for 4.
- •Years are a good practice ground: MMXXVI is 2026.
Roman numerals
The number system that uses letters: I, V, X, L, C, D and M.
Counting up: I = 1, II = 2, III = 3, IV = 4, V = 5, VI = 6, VII = 7, VIII = 8, IX = 9, X = 10. The bigger letters are L = 50, C = 100 and M = 1,000.
Animated Example:
Free Read and write Roman numerals up to 1,000 Worksheet
Download free worksheets and practise today.
Every download has a fresh set of questions.
Before this: Place value (Year 4) · Next: Place value (Year 6)
Let’s Practise the Concept
Step 1 of 3
Put them in order
Tap the numbers from smallest to largest.
In order so far: nothing yet