British imperial and American systems of measures. Units of measurement in English

Greetings, dear readers! Very often in films we hear about inches, yards, miles, acres. Almost every day the news says that a barrel of oil has risen in price by so many dollars. And if we imagine how much this is approximately in rubles, then we have no idea exactly how much oil in liters. Therefore, knowing the units of measurement in the USA, Canada and England is necessary not only for students of English, but will also be useful for the general development of everyone in order to imagine what is said in the news, literature or movies. English units of measurement

English units and measures of length, weight, volume, area, mass and other indicators are very different from those in Russian. Many of them, as I already said, you could have heard from movies, TV shows or news, or read in English literature. But in the USA and England, as well as in Australia and Canada, there are units of measurement that are not known to Russian speakers at all. For example, bushel, mil, rod, pepper and many others.

Sometimes it is very difficult to navigate new material or interesting information in English precisely because of ignorance of the meanings of some foreign measures. Therefore, in this article we will analyze in detail the units of measurement in English, find out their names, and approximately how much it will be if translated into familiar units of weight, length, speed, volume and distance.

The English measurement system is used not only in England and the USA, but also in other English-speaking countries. Great Britain, as a European country, has long adopted the decimal and metric system of measures, but the press and ordinary people are in no hurry to accept the new system and use the old one. The most common measures of length, weight and volume in English are barrel, foot, pint, acre, yard, inch and mile.

• 1 fluid ounce (fl. oz.) = 28.43 ml (cm³)
• 1 oz = 28.6 g
• Short ton = 907 kg
• Long ton = 1016.05 kg
• Barrel = 163.6 l
• Barrel of oil = 158.98 l
• 1 lb = 453.5 g
• 1 acre = 0.4 ha
• 1 yard = 0.9144 m
• 1 inch = 2.54 cm
• 1 pint = 507 ml
• 1 grain = 64.8 mg

This is only a small part of the units of measurement in English. In fact, there are more than a hundred of them. You won't be able to learn them all, but it would be nice to get acquainted with the most popular ones. After all, in newspapers, on radio and television, we regularly encounter these incomprehensible words, symbols and designations in English or their tracing paper in Russian.

Table of the most common English measurements

To make it easier for you to navigate each unit of measure, I divided them into categories, found their approximate values ​​in our system, and placed them in a convenient table. This table can be downloaded and saved to your computer, or printed and hung in a visible place so that you can easily look into it if necessary.

In addition to the metric system of measures, the English language uses its own methods of measuring length, weight and volume. Mostly, English units of measurement are used in the domestic market, and some are gradually falling out of use. Until 1971, the shilling was used as a monetary unit, which was part of the pound sterling in the amount of 20 units. In turn, there were 12 pence in a shilling. It is easy to calculate that there were 240 pence in a pound. The two shilling coin was called a florin.

The use of such a monetary unit in international payments caused serious difficulties, so in 1971 the good old shilling went into oblivion, and the number of pence in a shilling was reduced to one hundred. Other units of measurement in English have been preserved, and many of them are still used today, and the American barrel is used when trading oil on the international market. These words need to be learned, since you will encounter them either in texts when studying English, or you will encounter them when communicating with native speakers.

The English system of measures was developed in “pre-metric” times, and any parts of the body, containers or available materials were used as a “standard”. For example,

• Inch was the average width of a man's thumb
• Foot was equal to the average length of an adult human foot
• Stone was equal to the weight of a stone of a certain size
• Barrel (barrel, barrel) was the volume of a standard barrel.

In many countries and in Great Britain itself, various standards were invented, but after the revolution that the metric system of measures produced, all traditional measures began to be tied to it.

Length in English

Each English measure of length has its own history of origin and these units are interconnected:

• Point (0.3528mm)- a point approximately equal to the width of the point that we put on the letter
• Line(2.1mm)- line (6 points), which is close to the traditional 2 millimeters
• Inch(2.54cm)- inch. Approximately half the length of a matchbox.
• Foot(30.48cm)- ft. A little less than a third of a meter.
• Yard (0.9144m)- yard Doesn't reach a meter, about 8 centimeters.
• Furlong (201, 171m)- furlong. Close to 200 meters.
• Mile(1.6093 km)- “land” mile. Very close to 1600 meters.
• Naut mile(1.832km)- nautical mile. More than a simple mile by almost 231 meters.

How is volume measured?

This measure is necessary for measuring liquid or bulk products. The volume of solids is usually measured in square inches, feet and yards. An interesting measure of volume is measured by stacks. This English unit of volume is equal to four cubic yards.

To measure granular and liquid substances, the following measures are used:

• Butt- slightly less than 500 l, namely 490.97 l
• Barrel- British barrel 163.65 is much larger than American 119.2 l (US)
• Barrel for oil trading in the UK it is 158.988 l, and in the USA it differs by only 0.018 l (158.97 l)
• Gallon- here the difference is much higher: 4.546 liters in the UK versus 3.784 liters in the USA
• Pint- a British pint is almost 100 ml larger than an American one (0.57 l versus 0.473 l)
• Fluid ounce- there is unanimity here (28.4 ml)
• A quart is equal to 1.136 liters
• Bushel has a volume of 36.37 liters

How is weight measured?

We list the weight measures in English and Russian:

• 1. Ounce (ounce) slightly less than 30 g (28.35 g)
• 2. Pound as an English unit of weight (pound) equal to 453.59 g, which is almost 47 g less than half a kilogram
• 3. Stone, used mostly in America is 6.35 kg
• 4. Short ton is equal to 907.18 kg, and if you are interested, trace its history on the Internet
• 5. Long ton very close to a metric ton and equal to 1016 kg

In fact, there are many more traditional English measures of measurement; we have touched only on the most popular ones.

Lim English also recommends that you pay attention to the English measure of counting - dozen (dozen). It was once used in Russia, but gradually fell out of use. Also interesting is the unit of time measurement fortnight (14 days).

On the site you will learn to distinguish between metric and traditional English and American units of measurement. You will also be able to compare their meaning. The most important thing is that when traveling abroad, the mention of a pint or a gallon will not take you by surprise!

Metric (metric tone)= 2204.6 pounds = 0.984 large tons = 1000 kg

3.2. American system of mass measures

• 1 quintal = 1 handweight = 100 pounds = 1 cental = 45.36 kg
• 1 slug = 14.6 kg
• 1 quarter = 1/4 handweight = 25 lbs = 11.34 kg
• 1 stone = 14 pounds = 6.35 kg

4. Volume measures for liquids

4.1. British Imperial System of Liquid Measures

• 1 baht (Ukrainian) end) = 108-140 gallons = 490.97-636.44 l (dm, approx. 2 hogsheads)
• 1 baht of beer = 108 gallons = 17,339 feet = 490.97 liters
• 1 pipe = 105 gallons = 2 hogsheads = 477.34 l (dm)
• 1 hogshead (large barrel, Ukrainian) boar's head ) = 52.5 imperial gallons = 238.67 l (dm)
• 1 Barrel = 31-42 gallons = 140.9-190.9 l (dm)
• 1 barrel for liquid (beer) (Barrel) = 36 imperial gallons = 163.65 l (dm)
• 1 barrel for crude oil (Barrel (US Petroleum)) = 34.97 gallons = 158.988 L (dm)
• 1 kilderkin = 1/2 barrel = 2 ferkin = 16-18 gallons = 72.7-81.8 l (dm)
• 1 Ferkin (fir; ukr. small barrel ) = 1/6 hogshead = 1/4 barrel = 1/2 kilderkin = 8-9 gallons = 36 quarts = 36.3-40.9 l (dm)
• 1 imperial gallon = 4 quarts = 8 pints = 32 Jill (Hill) = 160 fl. ounces = 4.546 l (dm)
• 1 potli = 1/2 imp. gallons = 2 quarts = 2.27 l (dm)
• 1 quart = 1/4 imp. gallons = 2 pints = 1.1365 l (dm)
• Large bottles common in Europe and the UK (see Champagne):
  • 1 Melchizedek = 40 bottles = 30 liters
  • 1 Primat = 36 bottles = 27 liters
  • 1 Solomon = 25 liters
  • 1 Melchior = 24 bottles = 18 liters
  • 1 Nebuchadnezzar (Nebuchadnezzar) = 20 bottles = 15 liters
  • 1 Balthazar = 16 bottles = 12 liters
  • 1 Salmanazar = large wine bottle = 12 bottles = 9 liters
  • 1 Methuselah = 8 bottles = 6 liters
  • 1 Rehoboam = 6 bottles = 4.5 liters
  • 1 Jeroboam (double Magnum bottle) = 4 bottles = 3 liters
  • 1 Magnum bottle = 2 bottles = 1.5 liters
• 1 bottle of milk = 1 quart = 946.36 ml
• 1 bottle of whiskey = 1 five = 757.1 ml
• 1 bottle of champagne = 2/3 quart = 630.91 ml (French champagne, 750 ml)
• 1 bottle of wine = 750 ml = 25.3605 fl oz
• 1 Bucket (Ukrainian) ladle) Unofficial unit = 5 imp. gallons = 18.927 l
• 1 fillet = 1/2 bottle of champagne = 375 ml
• 1 pint = 1/8 imp. gallon = 1/2 quart = 4 jill (branches) = 20 r.oz. = 34.678 inches = 0.568 261 l (dm)
• 1 Jill (Hill) = 1/4 pint = 5 fl. ounces = 8.670 inches = 0.142 l (dm)
• 1 breakfast cup = 1/2 pint = 10 fl. ounces = 17.339 inches = 1.2 US cups = 284 ml
• 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons = 4 fl. drachm = 1/2 fl oz = 14.2 ml
• 1 teaspoon = 1/3 tablespoon = 1 1/3 fl. drams = 4.7 ml (from another source: = 1/8 fl oz = 3.55 ml (traditional), honey and kitchen = 5 ml)
• 1 should glass, glass = 16 fl. drachm = 2 fl. ounces = 56.8 ml according to other data equal to 2.5 fl. ounces = 5 tablespoons = 1/2 jill = 71 ml
• 1 oz. fl. (fl oz)= 1/20 pint = 1/5 jill = 8 fl. drachm = 24 fl. scruples = 1.733871 inches = 28.413063 ml (cm)
• 1 fluid drachma (1878 - February 1, 1971) = 3 fluid. scruples = 1/8 r. ounces = 60 mini = 0.96 US. liquid drachms = 0.216734 inches = 3.551633 ml
• 1 rub. Scrupul of pharmacies. (1878 - February 1, 1971) = 1/3 fl. drachms = 1/24 fl. ounces = 20 mini = 19.2 US. minimi = 1.18388 ml
• 1 minimum pharmacies. (1878 - February 1, 1971) = 1/60 fl. drachm = 1/20 fl. scrupula = 0.96 amer. minimum = 0.05919 ml

4.2. American system of measures for liquids

5. Volume measures for bulk solids

5.1. British Imperial System of Measures for Dry Solids

5.2. American System of Measures for Dry Solids

6. Apothecary and troy (for precious metals and stones) measures

There are differences between apothecary and troy (for precious metals and stones) measures:

• The pharmaceutical system of weights was used in the field of pharmaceuticals, it used the pound, ounce, drachm, scruple, gran, minim;
• The coin (troy) system of weights is used by jewelers and in the mint. Basic quantities - pound, ounce, pennyweight, carat, grain; this system is also used in the manufacture of ammunition
• The values ​​of the British and American systems of measures also differ.

6.1. Pharmaceutical weights

British pharmaceutical system of weights in the 15th-20th centuries. used in the pharmaceutical field, it used the pound, ounce, drachm, scruple and grain. At the same time, the pharmaceutical values ​​of a pound, ounce, and drachm differed from the values ​​of this name for commercial use.

6.2. Coin (troy) system of weights

The system is used by jewelers and the mint. The main units are pound, ounce and pennyweight.

A few facts about the British Imperial and American systems of weights and measures

Many people have heard that there are British Imperial and American systems of weights and measures. Do you know how they differ? These two systems are closely related; they both originated from the English system, which, in turn, was based on the system of measures of Ancient Rome. The American and British systems of measures are so close that they are often confused. And it is not surprising, given that often in these systems the names of the units are the same, although their meanings may differ.

History of units of measurement

The units of measurement that are used today in the United States and partly in Great Britain became widespread during the Norman conquests. The yard is the only unit that has remained virtually unchanged since those times. The yard replaced the previously used elbow (ell). Chain is another measure that came from old Anglia, which has hardly changed. On the other hand, the foot that is in use today has changed from the original foot. Today there are 16.5 feet in a rod unit, but originally there were exactly 15. Furlong and acre have not changed much in the last thousand years. They were originally a measure of land value, but later became simply units of area.

Confusion with British pounds

Differences between the British and American systems

Probably the most unusual units are volume units. A US liquid gallon is 0.83 imperial gallons, and a US dry gallon is 0.97 imperial gallons. In the UK, there is a single gallon for liquid and bulk substances.

US independence

After the US Declaration of Independence, America seceded and developed its own system of weights and measures. That is why today the meanings of American and British gallons, pounds, and yards differ. Ultimately, the two governments decided to work together and introduce precise definitions of the yard and foot, based on copies of the official standards that the British Parliament adopted in 1850. True, I had to admit that these “official” standards were not of very high quality and cannot provide the accuracy necessary in the modern world. Therefore, in 1960, two governments officially redefined the pound and yard based on the standards used in the metric system. And although the changes in 1960 were very small in magnitude, their consequence was the emergence of two parallel standards for measures of length in the United States - survey measures (the old standard) and international measures (the new one, tied to metric units).

The differences between US and UK units are often the subject of discussion and jokes among tourists. For example, in England, beer is sold in pints, with the British pint being larger than the American pint. This gives rise to endless jokes about Americans who can't calculate their drinking and the British who are always overpriced for a gallon of petrol.

What other differences are there in units?

Until 1960, the British yard and pound were not significantly different from their American counterparts, at least for everyday use - measuring not very long distances or selling, for example, products. But there were some differences even in this common usage. For example, in the USA short distances are usually denoted in feet, and in England - in yards.

It’s hard to believe, but there are still people alive who grew up among a different measurement system and other units. The old imperial system had a unit of stone equal to 14 pounds. Eight stone made a hundredweight (hundredweight), and a ton was equal to 20 hundredweight or 2240 pounds. In the American system there are no stones, and a hundredweight is equal to 100 pounds. Accordingly, a ton is equal to 2000 pounds. The round number 2000 is easier to remember than 2240, but having two different versions of tons and quintals leads to confusion, especially in international trade. To make it easier for people in different countries to understand the difference when talking about a ton, the British ton is often called the long ton, and the American ton is called the short ton. But there is also a metric ton!

If you think the modern system is too confusing, think about those who lived in the 19th century. Thomas Jefferson, in his “Plan for the Establishment of Uniform Standards of Coinage, Weights and Measures,” noted that in the United States alone there were 14 different definitions of the gallon. The smallest gallon contained 224 cubic inches, and the largest contained 282 cubic inches. The difference is more than a quarter! Ultimately, the Queen Anne gallon was chosen as the official one.

To facilitate international oil trade, a single unit of measurement was chosen - the barrel. One barrel is 159 liters or 42 US gallons. Precious metals are traded in troy ounces, one troy ounce is equal to 31.10 grams.

Ultimately, the whole world will probably come to a single measurement system. Most likely it will be the metric system. But for now we still live in a world where a wild mixture of systems and units coexists, including units that have the same name but with different meanings. Isn't it true that our world is a little crazy?