Year · 20th century
1938 in Roman numerals
1938 is written MCMXXXVIII
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 MCMXXXVIII 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.
- XXXtens · 3X written 3 times: 3 × 10 = 30.
- VIIIones · 8V (5) plus III (3) makes 8.
1,000 + 900 + 30 + 8 = 1,938
The pair CM uses 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 MDCCCCXXXVIII (13 letters). That adds everything up without subtraction. The Romans sometimes wrote numbers this way, and clocks still show 4 as IIII, but today MCMXXXVIII (10 letters) is the standard.
1938 for a tattoo or engraving
- Shortened to two digits ('38), it's XXXVIII. Many date tattoos use this shorter form.
- MCMXXXVIII has 10 letters. 1 of the 201 years from 1900 to 2100 are longer.
- 1938 was not a leap year (365 days), and 1 January 1938 was a Saturday.
See MCMXXXVIII in tattoo lettering
MCMXXXVIII 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 1938
Within the 1930s, every year starts MCMXXX (1,930).
Every year from 1934 to 1942 starts MCMX (1,910); only the ending changes.
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 1934 | MCMXXXIV |
| 1935 | MCMXXXV |
| 1936 | MCMXXXVI |
| 1937 | MCMXXXVII |
| 1938 | MCMXXXVIII |
| 1939 | MCMXXXIX |
| 1940 | MCMXL |
| 1941 | MCMXLI |
| 1942 | MCMXLII |