ARABIC Function in Excel: Roman Numerals to Numbers

ARABIC Function in Excel: Roman Numerals to Numbers featured illustration

📎 This article includes 1 downloadable practice file ↓

⏱ 2 min readUpdated 28 September 2026

MathLevel: BeginnerAvailable in: Excel 2013+

In this article
  1. Syntax
  2. Examples
  3. Example 1
  4. ARABIC in practice
  5. Where you will use it
  6. Worked example
  7. Mistakes people make
  8. Related functions
  9. Continue learning

ARABIC reads Roman numerals so you can sort “Part IX” correctly after “Part VIII”.

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Syntax

=ARABIC(text)
Argument What it means
text Roman numeral text.

Examples

Example 1

=ARABIC(TRIM(MID(A2, 6, 10)))

Sort key for titles like “Part XIV”.

ARABIC in practice

Where you will use it

  • Convert Roman numerals in old records, chapter numbers or clock faces to numbers
  • Sort lists numbered I, II, III correctly
  • Check movie or event sequel numbers

Worked example

RomanFormulaResult
XIV=ARABIC(A2)14
MCMXLVII=ARABIC(A3)1947
CDXCIX=ARABIC(A4)499

Results calculated in Excel.

Mistakes people make

MistakeWhat to do instead
Spaces inside the textWrap with TRIM: =ARABIC(TRIM(A2))
Expecting it to fix invalid numeralsUnusual forms may still convert; check odd inputs

ROMAN

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📎 Practice files for this article

  • 📗
    Practice workbook: Math & rounding24 tasks on realistic sales data — type your formula, the Check column turns green when it is right. Answers sheet included.
    ⬇ XLSX · 35 KB

Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.

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