What does MCCIV mean?

MCCIV is the Roman numeral for 1,204 — 1000 + 100 + 100 + 4.

How do you write 1204 in Roman numerals?

Take the largest value that fits and repeat until nothing is left: M (1000), then C (100), then C (100), then IV (4). That gives MCCIV.

1,204 in Roman numerals

MCCIV

Number (1–3,999 for numerals)

Roman numeral

1,204 is written MCCIV in Roman numerals. That is 4 symbol groups added together, reading left to right from the largest value down.

How it breaks down

MCCIV = 1000 + 100 + 100 + 4 = 1,204
Group	Value	Subtraction	Running total
M	1,000	—	1,000
C	100	—	1,100
C	100	—	1,200
IV	4	V − I	1,204

Why the smaller symbol comes first

MCCIV uses subtractive notation in one place: IV means V minus I, or 4. A smaller symbol placed before a larger one is subtracted from it rather than added, which is why IX is nine and not eleven.

Only six such pairs are valid — IV, IX, XL, XC, CD and CM. That restriction is what makes the notation unambiguous: IIII and IC both look like they should work, but neither is standard, and only one spelling of any number is correct.

The symbols

Symbol	Value	Used here
I	1	yes — 1×
V	5	yes — 1×
X	10	no
L	50	no
C	100	yes — 2×
D	500	no
M	1,000	yes — 1×

The same number, other ways

In words: One thousand two hundred four
Roman numeral: MCCIV
Symbol count: 5 characters
Binary: 10010110100
Hexadecimal: 4B4

The numbers either side

Number	Roman numeral
1,202	MCCII
1,203	MCCIII
1,204	MCCIV ←
1,205	MCCV
1,206	MCCVI

Common questions

What is 1204 in Roman numerals?: 1,204 is MCCIV.
What does MCCIV mean?: MCCIV is the Roman numeral for 1,204 — 1000 + 100 + 100 + 4.
How do you write 1204 in Roman numerals?: Take the largest value that fits and repeat until nothing is left: M (1000), then C (100), then C (100), then IV (4). That gives MCCIV.

Sources

Calculated on this page — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked