4 in Roman Numerals
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4 in Roman numerals is IV. 4 is 5 minus 1, so I goes before V: IV. IIII is not standard: it puts four Is in a row, one more than the rules allow, so the ones are written IV. In lowercase it is iv, and the number is four.
How IV is built
ones4 = 5 − 1 → IV
4 is 5 minus 1, so I goes before V: IV.
What sets IV apart
- IV is a subtractive pair
- I written before V means 5 minus 1. Written after it, as VI, the same I would be added and give 6.
- No letter repeats
- Each of the two letters in IV appears once.
- One letter shorter
- From 3 to 4 only the ones change, III becoming IV, and the numeral loses one letter.
- Twice 2
- 4 is twice 2 (II), but writing II twice does not work: IIII is not valid. I can appear at most three times in a row.
- Doubled: 8
- Double it and you reach 8 (VIII): the subtraction in IV disappears, and VIII is written by adding only.
Where you see IV
Sport
Super Bowl IV was played on January 11, 1970, in New Orleans, where the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 23–7. Wikipedia The Games of the IV Olympiad were the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. Wikipedia
Kings, queens and popes
Henry IV was the first Bourbon king of France, reigning from 1589 to 1610. Wikipedia
Films, games, books and software
Rocky IV was released in 1985. Wikipedia
Events and history
The Fourth Council of the Lateran, known as Lateran IV, opened in Rome in 1215. Wikipedia
On clock faces and in Unicode
Most clock faces with Roman numerals show four o'clock as IIII rather than IV, a tradition going back to the 14th-century Wells Cathedral clock. Wikipedia
Mistakes with 4
IIII appears on clocks, but the standard form of 4 is IV. Wikipedia
Numbers near 4
Questions about 4 in Roman numerals
Is 4 IIII or IV?
4 is written IV. IIII breaks the standard rules (an old additive form, still seen on clock faces).
