ARABIC Function (Gnumeric)

Use ARABIC to turn a Roman-numeral text value such as "XLIX" into the number 49. Gnumeric’s official Mathematics reference documents the function as ARABIC(roman). It explains the additive/subtractive interpretation of Roman symbols, including that a smaller symbol before a larger one can subtract from the total.

=ARABIC("XLIX")

Expected result (independently checked): 49. The XL portion is 40 and IX is 9. This is an expected value, not an observed Gnumeric result.

=ARABIC(roman)

roman — Required. A Roman-numeral text value or a reference to such a text cell Use quoted text ("XIV") or a reference (A2).

Only one argument is documented. There is no optional conversion mode. The current Gnumeric function manual documents ARABIC and its OpenFormula compatibility; the official catalogue lists it among standard functions. The checked stable release is 1.12.62 (September 2026). The exact release in which ARABIC first appeared was not established; do not treat 1.12.62 as its introduction date. Actual availability depends on the installed Gnumeric build and loaded functions.

Locale note: The one-argument formula is insensitive to an argument separator. Other functions in these examples use commas in English-language Gnumeric formulas; enter local separators as your installed formula editor requires. Roman numerals in examples use ASCII letters.

Enter the following values as text in column A. Enter the formula in B2, and fill down to B5:

On a narrow screen, scroll this table sideways to see every column.

For MMXXVI, the parts add as 1000 + 1000 + 10 + 10 + 5 + 1 = 2026. All four expected integers were checked with an independent Python Roman-numeral calculation. They were not executed inside Gnumeric.

Suppose an imported catalogue has section codes XIV, IV, and IX in cells A2:A4, but you want to sort by numeric chapter rather than text order. Put =ARABIC(A2) in B2 and fill to B4. Expected B2:B4 values are 14, 4, 9. Sort by column B ascending to obtain the order IV, IX, XIV. Keep column A as the printed Roman label, while B is the numeric sort key.

You can check a round trip with the related function:

=ARABIC(ROMAN(49))

Expected: 49. Gnumeric’s official ROMAN default is the classic numeral style; its output for 49 is XLIX. A round trip is a consistency check, not a guarantee that every malformed Roman string is rejected.

• Quoted text vs bare letters: Use =ARABIC("XIV") or =ARABIC(A2), not =ARABIC(XIV) unless XIV is deliberately a defined spreadsheet name.
• Nonstandard or malformed numerals: The official reference describes an arithmetic rule that can interpret unusual symbol sequences. Do not treat ARABIC as a strict Roman-numeral validator; validate imported identifiers separately before treating them as canonical labels.
• Input with leading/trailing spaces: Check whether a pasted cell contains extra characters. The exact response to each malformed value was not native-tested in the recorded checks; avoid assuming a specific error code.
• Unintended date/number conversion: Format the input column as text and check cell content, not just display. For results, use a numeric format.
• Wrong number after copying: Verify that B3 refers to A3, rather than an absolute reference to A2.

Gnumeric’s manual marks ARABIC as OpenFormula compatible. Microsoft Excel and LibreOffice Calc also provide a function named ARABIC, but a shared name does not certify identical treatment of malformed text or every locale. For a portable workbook, use ordinary canonical Roman numerals and retest edge cases after importing into each program. Gnumeric’s one-argument syntax is taken from Gnumeric documentation, not inferred from Excel.

• ROMAN converts numbers back to Roman text.
• VALUE converts eligible ordinary text numbers, not Roman glyphs.
• IFERROR can annotate exceptional imported values after you have checked actual Gnumeric error behavior.

• Gnumeric Mathematics function reference, ARABIC heading: syntax, argument and Roman symbol algorithm. Accessed 2026-10-11.
• Gnumeric function catalogue, Mathematics: function presence. Accessed 2026-10-11.
• Official Gnumeric homepage: 1.12.62 listed as latest stable. Accessed 2026-10-11.

The syntax and behaviour are based on the Gnumeric references cited above. The sample calculations were independently checked; they are expected results, not outputs observed in Gnumeric. Test locale-sensitive text conversion and imported files in your own installation. View the example-check record.

Official ARABIC reference · Editorial standards