# How is a Person's height described in Metric? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 27, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116 "2012-02-27T04:49:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/21 "2012-02-27T07:51:28Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I can visualize a meter because its easy for me to think of an old fashioned yard stick. It’s not exact, but at least I have something in my mind that roughly equates to a meter. Of course, in enlightened, post-medieval countries, they simply use something called a “meterstick”. It’s a yard stick made with less wood and more logic. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/22 "2012-02-27T08:18:29Z")
In most cases I’d give the measurement without giving the units. I’m one eightysix tall. In some cases that’s ambiguous and for some cases it sounds odd, for instance I’d say someone was two meters tall, not just two tall. (Even though the homophonic confusion doesn’t apply in Norway.) ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/23 "2012-02-27T08:19:00Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Except 180cm is 5’11" (70.866"), 183cm is 6’ (72.047") and 2m is closer to 6’ 7" (78.740") than 6’ 4". I was using estimates, to demonstrate that it’s not that hard to grasp the concept. I don’t actually know the exact conversions, and I didn’t bother checking because for the purpose of what I was saying, it’s not relevant. When someone describes a person’s height as “six feet” or “180 cm” I know _approximately_ how tall they are; any estimate within a few centimetres is close enough for a description. People routinely describe **me** as “six feet tall” when I am, in fact, 179cm. Which is fine, because it’s close enough for most purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/24 "2012-02-27T08:20:34Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > You just have one unit of length, the meter, and a simple prefix that moves the decimal around. How many 7/16ths of an inch are in 3.76 miles? Who knows? How many meters are in 3.76 kilometers? 3760. Bam. I wish people (well, Americans) would get this. It’s so common to hear people claim (right here on the SDMB) that metric isn’t any easier to work with. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/25 "2012-02-27T08:21:48Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Of course, in enlightened, post-medieval countries, they simply use something called a “meterstick”. It’s a yard stick made with less wood and more logic. _Less_ wood? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/26 "2012-02-27T08:26:04Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > _Less_ wood? Um… well… mm… yes! It needs less height because centimeters are easier to read, that’s it! I mean, oops :smack: ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/27 "2012-02-27T08:26:56Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > _Less_ wood? Thinner? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/28 "2012-02-27T08:43:24Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > 1. however you like, but I’d say most commonly in cm > > 2. no punctuation; 1’82" would look like time if anything. cm or m (M would be miles). No, M would be mega-, the prefix denoting a factor of 10[sup]6[/sup]. On its own it doesn’t make any sense; on the other hand if someone claimed to be 182 Mm tall then with their feet on the ground their head would reach halfway to the moon. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/29 "2012-02-27T10:22:03Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > In Holland we say, translated: > “He is one meter eighty”. We write down: “Length: 1.80 meter” Well, usually we shorten this to ‘I’m one eighty’. I rarely hear people say ‘meter’. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/30 "2012-02-27T11:11:15Z")
one point eight one; or one eight one. no problem visualising because most people would be within 30cm of your own height. even for children, a handy guide would be rulers, which come in 15cm, 30cm or even 1m long. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/31 "2012-02-27T11:12:08Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > Well, usually we shorten this to ‘I’m one eighty’. I rarely hear people say ‘meter’. I agree. It’s the same in Germany. For instance, I’m “one ninety five” (about 6’5"). You hardly ever hear “one meter ninety five”, and never “one hundred ninety five centimeters”. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/32 "2012-02-27T11:21:04Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > In Spain it’s also in meters, with a precision of two decimal figures and the understanding that the exact measurement obtained may vary depending on time of day and other factors. I’d say _mido metro sesenta y dos_, literally “I measure meter sixty-two”. For the metrically challenged, that comes to 1.62m It’s the basically the same here in Israel. As in: “So we see this big guy, meter ninety, meter ninety five, and he’s with this \*tiny \*chick, like _minuscule_, barely a meter and a half.” ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/33 "2012-02-27T12:09:20Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > It’s not precise but makes for a good first approximation – you aren’t really interested in whether he’s 182.78 cm, just that he’s a touch over six feet tall, right? Firstly, I don’t know how you’d measure a person to 0.1mm, and secondly, 182.78cm is just \*under \*six feet. 🙂 I’m 5’10", or 178cm. We use feet and inches for measuring people here in the UK, although if I had to quote it in metric I’d just say “one seventy eight”. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/34 "2012-02-27T14:19:22Z")
> [@naita](#): > > In most cases I’d give the measurement without giving the units. I’m one eightysix tall. In some cases that’s ambiguous and for some cases it sounds odd, for instance I’d say someone was two meters tall, not just two tall. (Even though the homophonic confusion doesn’t apply in Norway.) Same in Germany - when asked I say “_Ich bin einssechsundachtzig_” (I am one eighty-six, height being implied - I have never been asked for other dimensions 😉 ). When there is a form to fill in the unit (cm or m) is specified, and I fill in the number accordingly as “186” or “1,86”. My ID card says: “Height 186 cm”. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/35 "2012-02-27T15:05:38Z")
I’m involved in medical studies. For height we collect either inches or centimeters to one decimal place (depending on the country). For weight it’s pounds or kilograms also to one decimal place. Admittedly this may not reflect how the man on the street thinks about height and weight, but it is a data point. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/36 "2012-02-27T16:02:24Z")
> [@polar\_bear](#): > > Well, usually we shorten this to ‘I’m one eighty’. I rarely hear people say ‘meter’. That’s how my wife quotes heights. “One seventy-five” is more common for her to say than “one hundred and seventy-five centimeters”, just like “six two” is more common for me to say than “six feet two inches”. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/37 "2012-02-27T16:33:01Z")
In Japan, they use cm for people’s height, so I’m 183 cm. No one says 1 meter 83, etc. If you live in a metric country for a while, you get used to it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/38 "2012-02-27T17:42:30Z")
There’s been some very interesting comments. I’m guessing there’s similar regional differences in how weight is expressed? I’m 206 lbs or 93.44 kg. Would anyone say they are 93440 grams? That sound like a lot. 😉 how about 93kg and 440 grams? I think the Brits still use stones? I’m 14.7 st or OR 14 st and 10.00 lb. I like smaller numbers. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/39 "2012-02-27T17:49:43Z")
well, I tried to fix my error. darn edit time out. I skipped over centigrams and went straight to grams. Centigrams sounds weird for some reason. \ We used grams in chemistry. Never any large values for a class experiment. **corrected** say they are 9344 centigrams? That sound like a lot. 😉 how about 93kg and 44 centigrams? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116/40 "2012-02-27T17:56:45Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > _Less_ wood? “…More filling.” - 4 out of 5 termites surveyed 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-a-persons-height-described-in-metric/614116.md?page=3)