Year · 21st century
2004 in Roman numerals
2004 is written MMIV
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 MMIV is built
Roman numerals are written one decimal place at a time, largest first.
- MMthousands · 2MM is 2 × M (1,000), written out 2 times.
- IVones · 4I before V means 5 − 1 = 4. This saves writing IIII.
2,000 + 4 = 2,004
The pair IV uses 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 MMIIII (6 letters). That adds everything up without subtraction. The Romans sometimes wrote numbers this way, and clocks still show 4 as IIII, but today MMIV (4 letters) is the standard.
- There's no letter for zero. The zeros are simply left out, which is why 2004 has 2 parts, not 4.
2004 for a tattoo or engraving
- Shortened to two digits ('04), it's IV. Many date tattoos use this shorter form.
- MMIV has 4 letters. 178 of the 201 years from 1900 to 2100 are longer.
- 2004 was a leap year, with 366 days, and 1 January 2004 was a Thursday.
See MMIV in tattoo lettering
MMIV 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 2004
Within the 2000s, every year starts MM (2,000).
Every year from 2000 to 2008 starts MM (2,000); only the ending changes.
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 2000 | MM |
| 2001 | MMI |
| 2002 | MMII |
| 2003 | MMIII |
| 2004 | MMIV |
| 2005 | MMV |
| 2006 | MMVI |
| 2007 | MMVII |
| 2008 | MMVIII |