Length Reference Sheet

Conversions

Metric (SI)

1 nanometer (nm) = 1×10⁻⁹ meter (m)

1 micrometer (µm) = 1×10⁻⁶ meter (m)

1 micrometer (µm) = 0.001 millimeter (mm)

1 millimeter (mm) = 0.1 centimeter (cm)

1 centimeter (cm) = 10 millimeters (mm)

1 meter (m) = 100 centimeters (cm)

1 meter (m) = 1,000 millimeters (mm)

1 kilometer (km) = 1,000 meters (m)

1 light year (ly) ≈ 9.4607×10¹⁵ meters (m)

1 light year (ly) ≈ 9.461×10¹² kilometers (km)

U.S. / Imperial

1 inch (in) = 1/12 foot (ft)

1 foot (ft) = 12 inches (in)

1 yard (yd) = 3 feet (ft)

1 mile (mi) = 1,760 yards (yd)

1 mile (mi) = 5,280 feet (ft)

1 nautical mile (nmi) = 1,852 meters (m)

1 nautical mile (nmi) ≈ 1.15078 miles (mi)

U.S. to Metric

1 inch (in) ≈ 2.54 centimeters (cm)

1 foot (ft) ≈ 0.3048 meters (m)

1 yard (yd) ≈ 0.9144 meters (m)

1 mile (mi) ≈ 1.609 kilometers (km)

1 nautical mile (nmi) = 1.852 kilometers (km)

Metric to U.S.

1 millimeter (mm) ≈ 0.03937 inches (in)

1 centimeter (cm) ≈ 0.394 inches (in)

1 meter (m) ≈ 3.281 feet (ft) ≈ 1.094 yards (yd)

1 kilometer (km) ≈ 0.621 miles (mi)

1 kilometer (km) ≈ 0.540 nautical miles (nmi)

1 meter (m) ≈ 39.37 inches (in)

Quick benchmarks

A credit card ≈ 85.6 mm long

An A4 sheet ≈ 297 mm tall

1 meter = 100 cm = 1,000 mm

1 kilometer = 1,000 m

Metric prefixes (length)

Prefix Symbol Factor
kilo k 10³
hecto h 10²
deca da 10¹
— (unit) 10⁰
deci d 10⁻¹
centi c 10⁻²
milli m 10⁻³
micro µ 10⁻⁶
nano n 10⁻⁹