Table Of Contents
Last updated on March 17th, 2025
To meet their daily commerce and administration needs, the ancient Romans developed Roman Numerals. It used a combination of seven symbols — I, V, X, L, C, D, and M to represent numbers. Roman numerals were used to record transactions, keep track of data, and label military units. In this topic, we are going to learn about the Roman numeral DCCCXCVIII.
Ancient Romans discovered that counting fingers could get very complicated after 10. So to overcome the complexity, the Roman numeric system was developed. This was widely used throughout Europe as a standard writing system until the late Middle Ages.
Seven symbols are used to represent numbers in the Roman numeric system — I, V, X, L, C, D, and M. The numerals are made up of different combinations of these symbols. DCCCXCVIII in Roman numerals can be written in number form by adding the values of each Roman numeral, i.e., DCCCXCVIII = 898.
Let us learn more about the Roman numeral DCCCXCVIII, how we write them, the mistakes we usually make, and ways to avoid these mistakes.
When writing Roman numerals, there are a few rules that we need to follow based on the Roman numerals we are trying to write. In this section, we will learn about the rules when writing Roman numerals and how to represent them.
When a larger symbol is followed by a smaller symbol, we add the numerals to each other. For example, in VIII, we have 5 + 3 = 8.
A symbol that is repeated three times in continuation increases the value of the numeral. For example, CCC = 300.
We use the subtraction method when a larger symbol follows a smaller symbol. For example, XC = 90 (which is 100 – 10).
Symbols cannot be repeated more than three times, and some symbols, such as V, L, and D, cannot be repeated more than once. For example, 1000 is represented as M and not DDD.
Let us learn about how to write DCCCXCVIII in Roman numerals. There are two methods that we can use to write Roman numerals:
The breaking down of Roman numerals into parts and then converting them into numerals is what we call the expansion method. The expansion method is the breaking down of Roman numerals into numerical form and adding them to get the final number.
Step 1: Break the Roman numerals into parts.
Step 2: Now write each of the Roman numerals with its numerical digit in the place value.
Step 3: Add the numerals together.
For DCCCXCVIII,
Step 1: First, we break the Roman numerals. DCCCXCVIII = D + CCC + XC + VIII
Step 2: Write the Roman Numerals for each part. The Roman Numeral D is 500 The Roman Numeral C is 100 The Roman Numeral X is 10 The Roman Numeral V is 5 The Roman Numeral I is 1
Step 3: Combine all the numbers. D + CCC + XC + VIII = 500 + 300 + 90 + 8 = 898. Therefore, the Roman Numeral DCCCXCVIII is 898.
Using subtraction and addition rules, we will apply the grouping method. This means we break the Roman numerals into smaller groups, which makes it easier to work with. This method groups the Roman numerals logically, and then we write the numbers for each group.
Step 1: Take the largest number and write the number for that Roman numeral.
Step 2: Write the Roman numeral using the subtraction and addition rules.
Example: Let’s take the Roman numeral DCCCXCVIII.
Step 1: The larger Roman numerals are what we will begin with. Once split, the Roman numerals we get are D, CCC, XC, and VIII. The numeral for D is 500.
Step 2: Now we need to either add or subtract the smaller number, depending on its place.
Here we add CCC, XC, and VIII to D, and we will get DCCCXCVIII. The Roman numeral CCC is 300, XC is 90, and VIII is 8. Therefore, the numeral of DCCCXCVIII is 898.
A Roman merchant has DCCCXCIII apples and receives V more. How many apples does he have in total, in Roman numerals?
A historian finds a scroll dated DCCCXCIX years ago. How many years ago was it from DCCCXCVIII? Provide the answer in Roman numerals.
A Roman engineer calculates the half-life of a material as DCCCXCVIII years. What is the half of this in Roman numerals?
A Roman mosaic artist uses DCCCXCVIII tiles. If he uses twice as many tiles for another project, how many tiles does he use in total? Write the answer in Roman numerals.
Convert DCCCXCVIII into its decimal form.
Hiralee Lalitkumar Makwana has almost two years of teaching experience. She is a number ninja as she loves numbers. Her interest in numbers can be seen in the way she cracks math puzzles and hidden patterns.
: She loves to read number jokes and games.