4 in Roman numerals
4 is written IV. The smaller I comes before the bigger V, so take it away: IV is 4, one before five.
The answer
IV
4 in Roman numerals is IV.
How IV is built
To write it, 4 is less than 10, so there are no tens to write: 4 is IV.
To read it, IV is one take-away pair, so there is nothing else to add.
| Chunk | Worth | Why |
|---|---|---|
| IV | 4 | I before V: take away |
The mistake to watch for
Writing 4 as IIII
Wrong: IIII
IIII writes I four times in a row. Never more than three: 4 is IV, one before five. Some clock faces do show IIII. In the standard form taught here, 4 is IV.
Check it with the converter
Type IIII to see why IIII is not 4. The rule numbers it gives are the three rules on the Roman numerals page.
Converter set to IV (4).
Keep going
Questions parents ask
What is 4 in Roman numerals?
4 is IV.
What comes before and after IV?
3 is III and 5 is V.
Does IV use subtraction?
Yes. I comes before the bigger V, so IV is 4.
What is the biggest letter in IV?
V, which is 5. IV has 2 letters.
Where might you see IV?
On clock faces, where the hours from I to XII go round the dial, though many clocks write the 4 as IIII. Also in King William IV, and London 1908 was the Games of the IV Olympiad.
When do children learn IV?
In England, Year 3 children learn to tell the time on clocks with Roman numerals from I to XII, so IV is one of the first numerals in the curriculum. Year 4 reads numerals to 100.
Want to practise more?
Explore the diagnostic for more practice activities.