What does CCXLVIII mean?

CCXLVIII is the Roman numeral for 248 — 100 + 100 + 40 + 5 + 1 + 1 + 1.

How do you write 248 in Roman numerals?

Take the largest value that fits and repeat until nothing is left: C (100), then C (100), then XL (40), then V (5), then I (1), then I (1), then I (1). That gives CCXLVIII.

248 in Roman numerals

CCXLVIII

Number (1–3,999 for numerals)

Roman numeral

248 is written CCXLVIII in Roman numerals. That is 7 symbol groups added together, reading left to right from the largest value down.

How it breaks down

CCXLVIII = 100 + 100 + 40 + 5 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 248
Group	Value	Subtraction	Running total
C	100	—	100
C	100	—	200
XL	40	L − X	240
V	5	—	245
I	1	—	246
I	1	—	247
I	1	—	248

Why the smaller symbol comes first

CCXLVIII uses subtractive notation in one place: XL means L minus X, or 40. 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 — 3×
V	5	yes — 1×
X	10	yes — 1×
L	50	yes — 1×
C	100	yes — 2×
D	500	no
M	1,000	no

The same number, other ways

In words: Two hundred forty-eight
Roman numeral: CCXLVIII
Symbol count: 8 characters
Binary: 11111000
Hexadecimal: F8

The numbers either side

Number	Roman numeral
246	CCXLVI
247	CCXLVII
248	CCXLVIII ←
249	CCXLIX
250	CCL

Common questions

What is 248 in Roman numerals?: 248 is CCXLVIII.
What does CCXLVIII mean?: CCXLVIII is the Roman numeral for 248 — 100 + 100 + 40 + 5 + 1 + 1 + 1.
How do you write 248 in Roman numerals?: Take the largest value that fits and repeat until nothing is left: C (100), then C (100), then XL (40), then V (5), then I (1), then I (1), then I (1). That gives CCXLVIII.

Sources

Calculated on this page — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked