Year · 21st century
2009 in Roman numerals
2009 is written MMIX
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 MMIX 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.
- IXones · 9I before X means 10 − 1 = 9. This saves writing VIIII.
2,000 + 9 = 2,009
The pair IX 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 MMVIIII (7 letters). That adds everything up without subtraction. The Romans sometimes wrote numbers this way, and clocks still show 4 as IIII, but today MMIX (4 letters) is the standard.
- There's no letter for zero. The zeros are simply left out, which is why 2009 has 2 parts, not 4.
2009 for a tattoo or engraving
- Shortened to two digits ('09), it's IX. Many date tattoos use this shorter form.
- MMIX has 4 letters. 178 of the 201 years from 1900 to 2100 are longer.
- 2009 was not a leap year (365 days), and 1 January 2009 was a Thursday.
See MMIX in tattoo lettering
MMIX 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 2009
Within the 2000s, every year starts MM (2,000).
Every year from 2005 to 2013 starts MM (2,000); only the ending changes.
| Number | Roman numeral |
|---|---|
| 2005 | MMV |
| 2006 | MMVI |
| 2007 | MMVII |
| 2008 | MMVIII |
| 2009 | MMIX |
| 2010 | MMX |
| 2011 | MMXI |
| 2012 | MMXII |
| 2013 | MMXIII |