Miles, Fahrenheit, gallons, shoe sizes: the conversion sheet for the United States

The United States is one of the few countries not to use the metric system. Road signs are in miles, the weather in degrees Fahrenheit, fuel in gallons and steaks in ounces. Here’s what you need to translate it all, with mental arithmetic tricks for getting by without a phone.

Distances

American unit	Equivalent
1 inch (in or ″)	2.54 cm
1 foot (ft or ′)	30.5 cm
1 yard (yd)	91 cm
1 mile (mi)	1.609 km

On the road

Miles per hour	Km/h
25 mph	40
35 mph	56
45 mph	72
55 mph	89
65 mph	105
75 mph	121
80 mph	129

The speedometer in rental cars shows both scales, or can be set to km/h in the menus.

When hiking, distances are in miles and elevation gains in feet. A 5-mile trail with 1,500 feet of elevation gain is 8 km with 450 metres of climbing. For altitudes, divide the feet by three, then take off 10%: 9,000 feet is about 2,700 metres.

People’s height is given in feet and inches: 5′7″ is 1.70 m, 6′ is 1.83 m.

Temperatures

The exact formula: (°F − 32) ÷ 1.8 = °C.

°F	°C	How it feels
32	0	Freezing
50	10	Cool
68	20	Mild
77	25	Pleasant
86	30	Hot
95	35	Very hot
104	40	Heatwave
113	45	Death Valley in summer
122	50	Danger

In the oven: 350°F is 180°C, 400°F is 200°C, 425°F is 220°C.

Air conditioning in rooms is set in Fahrenheit: aim for 70 to 72°F for 21 or 22°C.

Volumes

American unit	Equivalent
1 fluid ounce (fl oz)	29.6 ml
1 cup	237 ml
1 pint (pt)	473 ml
1 quart (qt)	946 ml
1 gallon (gal)	3.785 litres

• A standard can is 12 fl oz (355 ml).
• At the coffee shop, tall = 12 oz (35 cl), grande = 16 oz (47 cl), venti = 20 oz (59 cl).
• A one-gallon bottle of water holds almost 4 litres.
• The American pint (473 ml) is smaller than the British pint (568 ml).

Fuel consumption is given in miles per gallon (mpg): the higher, the better. Divide 235 by the mpg to get litres per 100 km. 30 mpg = 7.8 l/100 km. We explain how to work out a fuel budget in the article on fuel.

Weights

American unit	Equivalent
1 ounce (oz)	28.35 g
1 pound (lb)	454 g

• An 8 oz steak weighs 225 g, a 16 oz one almost 450 g.
• A quarter pounder burger contains 113 g of meat.
• At the supermarket, prices are per pound: multiply by 2.2 to get the price per kilo.
• A 50 lb suitcase is 23 kg, the usual limit in the hold.
• For your own weight: 70 kg = 154 lb.

Tyre pressure

It’s in PSI. 1 bar = 14.5 PSI. A pressure of 2.4 bars is 35 PSI. The recommended value is on a label in the frame of the driver’s door.

Clothing sizes

The equivalents vary from one brand to another: always try things on.

Women

Belgium / France	United States
34	2
36	4
38	6
40	8
42	10
44	12

Men

Shirts and jackets are in inches or letters (S, M, L, XL). Letter sizes run larger than in Europe: a European M often corresponds to an American S.

Jeans are given by waist and leg length, in inches: a 32×32 is roughly a French 42.

Shoe sizes

Europe	United States, women	United States, men
36	5.5
37	6.5
38	7.5
39	8.5	6.5
40	9	7.5
41	10	8
42		9
43		10
44		10.5
45		11.5
46		12

Here too, brands differ by half a size. American shops often offer several widths: M or D for standard, W for wide.

Dates and times

Times are on a twelve-hour clock: a.m. from midnight to noon, p.m. from noon to midnight. 12 a.m. = midnight, 12 p.m. = noon. The 24-hour format is called military time and is almost never used.

The week starts on Sunday on calendars.

Time zones are explained in our article on the time difference.

Numbers and prices

• The point and the comma are the other way round from continental Europe: 1,500.75 means one thousand five hundred point seven five.
• An American billion is a thousand million, not a million million.
• Prices exclude tax, and the tip comes on top (see money and payments).
• Coins have names: penny (1 cent), nickel (5), dime (10, the smallest), quarter (25).

Floors and addresses

• The ground floor is the first floor. The second floor is our first floor. In lifts, L means lobby and G ground.
• Many buildings have no 13th floor: they go from 12 to 14.
• Street numbers go up by a hundred with each block: number 1250 is between 12th and 13th Street.
• Distances in town are counted in blocks.

Paper and electricity

• The usual paper size is Letter (21.6 × 27.9 cm), a little wider and shorter than A4.
• The current is 110-120 volts, with flat-pin sockets. The details are in phone and internet.