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Math function

ARABIC

Converts a Roman numeral to an Arabic number.

Rarely usedDifficulty 1000 · CapableUsage rank #238 of 520
Practice · 2 questions →

When to use it

Converts a Roman numeral text back to a number. Case does not matter and a leading minus sign is honored.

The shape of it

Syntax
=ARABIC(text)

Worked examples

  • A year

    =ARABIC("MMXXIV") → 2024

    Back to a number.

  • Lowercase

    =ARABIC("xiv") → 14

    Lowercase works.

  • Negative

    =ARABIC("-LX") → -60

    A leading minus makes it negative.

Worth knowing

  • Leading and trailing spaces are ignored.
  • Accepts up to 255 characters.
  • Useful for cleaning up chapter or appendix numbering pulled from documents.

Where it goes wrong

  • #VALUE! for text that is not a valid Roman numeral.
  • An empty string returns 0, not an error.

Related

SUMSUMIFSUMIFSROUNDABSSUMPRODUCT

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