Year · 20th century
1984 in Roman numerals
1984 is written MCMLXXXIV
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 MCMLXXXIV 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.
- LXXXtens · 8L (50) plus XXX (30) makes 80.
- IVones · 4I before V means 5 − 1 = 4. This saves writing IIII.
1,000 + 900 + 80 + 4 = 1,984
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 MDCCCCLXXXIIII (14 letters). That adds everything up without subtraction. The Romans sometimes wrote numbers this way, and clocks still show 4 as IIII, but today MCMLXXXIV (9 letters) is the standard.
1984 for a tattoo or engraving
- Shortened to two digits ('84), it's LXXXIV. Many date tattoos use this shorter form.
- MCMLXXXIV has 9 letters. 6 of the 201 years from 1900 to 2100 are longer.
- 1984 was a leap year, with 366 days, and 1 January 1984 was a Sunday.
See MCMLXXXIV in tattoo lettering
MCMLXXXIV 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 1984
Within the 1980s, every year starts MCMLXXX (1,980).
Every year from 1980 to 1988 starts MCMLXXX (1,980); only the ending changes.
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 1980 | MCMLXXX |
| 1981 | MCMLXXXI |
| 1982 | MCMLXXXII |
| 1983 | MCMLXXXIII |
| 1984 | MCMLXXXIV |
| 1985 | MCMLXXXV |
| 1986 | MCMLXXXVI |
| 1987 | MCMLXXXVII |
| 1988 | MCMLXXXVIII |