Year · 20th century
1904 in Roman numerals
1904 is written MCMIV
Type any other number or numeral below to convert it.
Above 3,999? Type the barred part in brackets, e.g. (IV)CC = 4,200.
How MCMIV is built
Roman numerals are written one decimal place at a time, largest first.
- Mthousands · 1M is 1,000.
- CMhundreds · 9C before M means 1,000 − 100 = 900. This saves writing DCCCC.
- IVones · 4I before V means 5 − 1 = 4. This saves writing IIII.
1,000 + 900 + 4 = 1,904
The pairs CM and IV use subtraction: a smaller letter before a larger one is taken away from it. Only six pairs work this way: IV, IX, XL, XC, CD and CM. More on subtraction
Mistakes to avoid
- Not MDCCCCIIII (10 letters). That adds everything up without subtraction. The Romans sometimes wrote numbers this way, and clocks still show 4 as IIII, but today MCMIV (5 letters) is the standard.
- There's no letter for zero. The zero is simply left out, which is why 1904 has 3 parts, not 4.
1904 for a tattoo or engraving
- Shortened to two digits ('04), it's IV. Many date tattoos use this shorter form.
- MCMIV has 5 letters. 146 of the 201 years from 1900 to 2100 are longer.
- 1904 was a leap year, with 366 days, and 1 January 1904 was a Friday.
See MCMIV in tattoo lettering
MCMIV in ten open-source fonts, on your skin tone, ready to download or print as a stencil.
PNG downloads are 3000 px with a transparent background. SVG downloads keep the lettering as outlines, so they look the same in any app. All fonts are open source (SIL Open Font Licence) and free to use for tattoos and products. See the font credits.
Years around 1904
Within the 1900s, every year starts MCM (1,900).
Every year from 1900 to 1908 starts MCM (1,900); only the ending changes.
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 1900 | MCM |
| 1901 | MCMI |
| 1902 | MCMII |
| 1903 | MCMIII |
| 1904 | MCMIV |
| 1905 | MCMV |
| 1906 | MCMVI |
| 1907 | MCMVII |
| 1908 | MCMVIII |