The following tables show some of the more common measures, and the conversion between larger and smaller units. The left hand tables show the units for the metric system while the right hand tables show for the Imperial and USA measurement systems. For measures where the Imperial units are different from the USA units (e.g. for gallons) this is noted.
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Metric length
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Imperial/USA Length
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10 millimeters
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1 centimeter
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12 inches
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1 foot
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10 centimeters
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1 decimeter
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3 feet
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1 yard
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10 decimeters
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1 meter
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22 yards
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1 chain
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10 meters
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1 decameter
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10 chains
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1 furlong
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10 decameters
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1 hectometer
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8 furlongs
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1 mile (5280 feet)
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10 hectometers
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1 kilometer (1000 meters)
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Metric area
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Imperial/USA area
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100 square mm
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1 square centimeter
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144 square inches
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1 square foot
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10000 square cm
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1 square meter
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9 square feet
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1 square yard
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100 square m
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1 are
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4840 square yards
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1 acre
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100 ares
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1 hectare
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640 acres
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1 square mile
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100 hectares
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1 square kilometer
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1000000 square meters
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The Imperial and USA systems have the same definition of the pound and the same definition of the ounce. However, the Imperial system uses the "stone", which is not used in the USA system. In the Imperial systems a "hundredweight" is not a hundred pounds but is equal to 8 stones, giving a weight of 112 pounds (8 * 14 pounds). Likewise, the Imperial "ton" is defined as 20 "hundredweight", given a weight of 2240 pounds (20 * 112 pounds). Therefore, when speaking of a hundredweight or a ton, one needs to know whether it is the Imperial version of these measures or the USA version.
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Metric mass
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Imperial/USA weight
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1000 grams
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1 kilogram
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16 ounces
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1 pound
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1000 kilograms
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1 ton
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14 pounds
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1 stone (UK)
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8 stones (UK)
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1 hundredweight (UK)
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112 pounds (UK)
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100 pounds
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1 hundredweight (USA)
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20 hundredweight (UK)
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1 ton (UK)
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2240 pounds
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20 hundredweight (USA)
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1 ton (USA)
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2000 pounds
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The Imperial and USA systems use similar terms for liquid capacity, but the relationships of the units are not the same. The Imperial system has 5 fluid ounces to a gill, while the USA system has 4 fluid ounces to a gill. This means that the gill and all multiples of it (e.g. cup, pint, quart, gallon) are all larger in the Imperial system than in the USA system.
The Imperial fluid ounce (equal to 28.413 062 5 milliliters) is slightly smaller than the USA fluid ounce (equal to 29.573 529 562 5 milliliters).
Within the UK, the Imperial "tablespoon" is officially defined as 5/8 of a fluid ounce and a teaspoon is 1/24 of a gill. However, in other Imperial countries the tablespoon is often defined as half an ounce and the teaspoon as one third of a tablespoon. For ease of use, we've used these simpler definitions in the following table. For our metric calculators, the official UK definitions are used. In general, there are multiple interpretations of the exact value of teaspoon, tablespoon and cup (see Cooking Converter for further discussion of this point).
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Metric capacity
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Imperial liquid capacity
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10 mililiters
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1 centilitre
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2 teaspoons
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1 dessertspoon
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10 centiliters
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1 decilitre
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3 teaspoons
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1 tablespoon
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10 deciliters
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1 litre
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2 tablespoons
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1 fluid ounce
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1000 liters
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1 cubic meter
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5 fluid ounces
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1gill
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2 gills
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1 cup
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2 cups
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1 pint
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20 fluid ounces
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2 pints
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1 quart
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4 quarts
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1 gallon
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USA liquid capacity
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3 teaspoons
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1 tablespoon
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2 tablespoons
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1 fluid ounce
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4 fluid ounces
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1 gill
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2 gills
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1 cup
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2 cups
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1 pint
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16 fluid ounces
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2 pints
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1 quart
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4 quarts
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1 gallon
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Metric Conversion
We provide a metric system converter and conversion table for all common conversions at Quick Metric Converter. Related topics are provided at Metric System Conversion. |
