Year · 20th century
1942 in Roman numerals
1942 is written MCMXLII
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 MCMXLII 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.
- XLtens · 4X before L means 50 − 10 = 40. This saves writing XXXX.
- IIones · 2I written 2 times: 2 × 1 = 2.
1,000 + 900 + 40 + 2 = 1,942
The pairs CM and XL 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 MDCCCCXXXXII (12 letters). That adds everything up without subtraction. The Romans sometimes wrote numbers this way, and clocks still show 4 as IIII, but today MCMXLII (7 letters) is the standard.
1942 for a tattoo or engraving
- Shortened to two digits ('42), it's XLII. Many date tattoos use this shorter form.
- MCMXLII has 7 letters. 54 of the 201 years from 1900 to 2100 are longer.
- 1942 was not a leap year (365 days), and 1 January 1942 was a Thursday.
See MCMXLII in tattoo lettering
MCMXLII 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 1942
Within the 1940s, every year starts MCMXL (1,940).
Every year from 1938 to 1946 starts MCMX (1,910); only the ending changes.
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 1938 | MCMXXXVIII |
| 1939 | MCMXXXIX |
| 1940 | MCMXL |
| 1941 | MCMXLI |
| 1942 | MCMXLII |
| 1943 | MCMXLIII |
| 1944 | MCMXLIV |
| 1945 | MCMXLV |
| 1946 | MCMXLVI |