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Unit catalogue

This page lists every unit symbol and name Varlig Calc recognises, grouped by what the unit measures. Use it to check how to spell a unit, or to find the symbol to convert to. Each section has a table of units and a few example conversions.

For how to attach units to numbers, convert with in or to, and do arithmetic with them, see Units and conversions.

calc
3 tsp in tbsp gives 1 tbsp
10 m/s in km/h gives 36 km/h
1 GiB in MiB gives 1,024 MiB

Reading the tables

  • Symbols are case-sensitive. MB is a megabyte and Mb is a megabit. Mm is not a megametre: it’s read as mm.
  • Names must be spelled as listed. (s) means the singular and plural both work, so mile(s) accepts mile and miles. A name listed only in one form, such as kilojoules, works only in that form.
  • British and US spellings both work for every metre and litre unit, including the ones inside square, cubic and rate names: centimetres, millilitres, square metres, kilometres per hour, litres per 100 kilometres. tonne(s) is the metric tonne.
  • Words that aren’t units are left out of a plain line, but not of a conversion. 2 milligrams shows a plain 2, because the name is listed as milligram, and 2 milligrams in g shows unknown unit: milligrams. If an answer is missing the unit you expected, or shows that error, check the spelling here.
  • Look-alike characters spell the same unit, so text pasted from a datasheet works as it is. The Greek μ works like the micro sign µ, ˚ like the degree sign, ℃ and ℉ like °C and °F, and the ångström, ohm and kelvin signs like Å, Ω and K. Spaces around / or · don’t change a unit either (lb · ft, mi / gal).
  • A kelvin run on to the unit before it is a product, the way U-values and heat capacities are printed: W/mK is W/(m·K), W/m2K and W/m²K are W/(m²·K), and J/kgK is J/(kg·K). See Units from a textbook or datasheet.
  • Answers show the unit in a standard form, which can differ from what you typed. 2 ft shows 2 feet, 2 A shows 2 amps, 2 kph shows 2 km/h and 2 imperial pints shows 2 UK pt.

Length

Unit Symbols Names
metre m meter(s), metre(s)
kilometre km kilometer(s), kilometre(s)
decimetre dm decimeter(s), decimetre(s)
centimetre cm centimeter(s), centimetre(s)
millimetre mm millimeter(s), millimetre(s)
micrometre µm, μm micrometer(s), micrometre(s), micron(s)
nanometre nm nanometer(s), nanometre(s)
ångström Å angstrom(s), ångström(s)
inch in, " inch, inches
thou (0.001 inch) thou
foot ft, ' foot, feet
yard yd yard(s)
mile mi mile(s)
nautical mile NM, nmi nautical mile(s)
fathom ftm fathom(s)
furlong fur furlong(s)
astronomical unit AU astronomical unit(s)
light year ly light year(s)
parsec pc parsec(s)
hand (horse height) hh hands
pixel px pixel(s)
typographic point pt
em em
rem rem

in also means “convert to”, but a number followed by in at the end of a line or before an operator is inches: 11 in is 11 inches, 6 in * 6 in is 36 in², and 11 in in cm converts. For pixels, points, em and rem, see Screen and type.

A horse’s height is written in the plural (16 hands, 15.2 hh, four inches to the hand). The singular hand in front of another word is the body part, so 42 hand towels counts towels.

calc
11 inches in cm gives 27.94 cm
1 NM in m gives 1,852 m
1 mi in km gives 1.609344 km
1 AU in km gives 149,597,870.7 km
1 thou in mm gives 0.0254 mm

Area

Unit Symbols Names
square metre m² square meter(s), square metre(s)
square kilometre km²
square decimetre dm²
square centimetre cm²
square millimetre mm²
square micrometre µm²
square nanometre nm²
hectare ha hectare(s)
are a ares
acre ac acre(s)
square inch in² sqin
square foot ft² sqft, square feet
square yard yd² sqyd
square mile mi² sqmi

You can also put sq or square in front of a length (sq m, sq ft, square miles, square kilometres), or use ^2 (m^2, ft^2). sq runs together with the unit too, so sqm, sqcm, sqmm and sqkm join sqft, sqin, sqyd and sqmi.

calc
5,000 m² in ha gives 0.5 ha
100 m² in a gives 1 ares
1 sq mi in km² gives 2.5899881103 km²
20 sqm in sq ft gives 215.2782083342 ft²
450 sq ft / 400 sq ft/gal gives 1.125 gal

Volume

Unit Symbols Names
litre L, l liter(s), litre(s)
millilitre mL, ml milliliter(s), millilitre(s)
centilitre cL centiliter(s), centilitre(s)
decilitre dL deciliter(s), decilitre(s)
hectolitre hL, hl hectoliter(s), hectolitre(s)
kilolitre kL kiloliter(s), kilolitre(s)
megalitre ML megaliter(s), megalitre(s)
microlitre µL microliter(s), microlitre(s)
nanolitre nL nanoliter(s), nanolitre(s)
cubic metre m³ cubic meter(s), cubic metre(s)
cubic decimetre dm³
cubic centimetre cm³, cc
cubic millimetre mm³
cubic kilometre km³
cubic inch in³
cubic foot ft³ cuft, cu ft, cubic feet
cubic yard yd³ cuyd
cubic mile mi³
US gallon gal gallon(s), US gallon(s)
UK gallon UK gal, imp gal UK gallon(s), imperial gallon(s)
US quart qt quart(s), US quart(s)
UK quart UK qt, imp qt UK quart(s), imperial quart(s)
US pint pint pint(s), US pint(s)
UK pint UK pt, imp pt UK pint(s), imperial pint(s)
US cup cup cup(s)
metric cup (250 mL) metric cup metric cups
US fluid ounce fl oz, US fl oz fluid ounce(s)
UK fluid ounce UK fl oz, imp fl oz UK fluid ounce(s), imperial fluid ounce(s)
tablespoon tbsp tablespoon(s)
dessertspoon (10 mL) dsp dessertspoon(s)
teaspoon tsp teaspoon(s)
oil barrel bbl barrel(s)
US bushel bsh bushel(s)
acre-foot af acre foot, acre feet
board foot bdft, fbm board foot, board feet, board-foot, board-feet

gal, qt, pint, cup and fl oz are US measures. For the British gallon, quart, pint and fluid ounce, put UK, imp or imperial in front, in capitals or not: uk gal, imp pt, 2 UK Pints and UK fluid ounces all work, and so does the system in brackets after the unit, as in 5 fl oz (UK). US in front names the US measure. Cups and spoons have no UK size, so UK cup is an unknown unit.

calc
1 metric cup in mL gives 250 mL
1 pint in mL gives 473.176473 mL
1 UK pint in mL gives 568.26125 mL
1 uk gal in L gives 4.54609 L
1 UK fl oz in mL gives 28.4130625 mL
1 bbl in L gives 158.987 L
1 in * 10 in * 8 ft in board feet gives 6.6666666667 bdft

Mass

Unit Symbols Names
kilogram kg kilogram(s)
gram g gram(s)
milligram mg milligram
microgram µg, mcg microgram
nanogram ng nanogram
tonne t tonne(s), metric ton(s), metric tonne(s)
US short ton ton short ton(s), US ton(s)
long ton long ton long tons, imperial ton(s), UK ton(s)
pound lb, lbs pound(s)
ounce oz ounce(s)
troy ounce oz t troy ounce(s), ounces troy
stone st stone(s)
carat ct carat(s)
grain grain(s)
stick of butter (113 g) stick(s) of butter, stick(s) butter

pounds on its own is a mass. For the currency, write £, GBP or british pounds.

calc
1 t in kg gives 1,000 kg
1 ton in kg gives 907.18474 kg
1 carat in mg gives 200 mg
1 long ton in kg gives 1,016.0469088 kg
1 stick of butter in g gives 113 g

Time

Unit Symbols Names
second s, sec, secs second(s)
millisecond ms millisecond(s)
microsecond µs microseconds
nanosecond ns nanosecond(s)
picosecond ps picosecond(s)
minute min, mins minute(s)
hour h, hr, hrs hour(s)
day d day(s)
week wk, wks week(s)
fortnight fortnight(s)
month mo, mos month(s)
year yr, yrs year(s)
decade decade(s)
century century, centuries
millennium millennium, millennia
night night(s)
workday workday(s), work day(s), weekday(s), business day(s)
work hour workhour
  • d works only as a conversion target (36 h in d). After a number, write day or days.
  • When you convert a length of time, a month counts as 30.436875 days and a year as 365.2425 days. Adding months, years or decades to a date uses real calendar months and years instead; see Dates and the calendar.
  • A night is 24 hours. A workday is 8 hours unless you change the hours per workday in Settings.
calc
36 h in d gives 1.5 days
1 month in days gives 30.436875 days
1 year in days gives 365.2425 days
2 workdays in hours gives 16 hours
1 fortnight in days gives 14 days
1 century in years gives 100 years

Speed and acceleration

Unit Symbols Names
metres per second m/s meters per second, metres per second
kilometres per hour km/h, kph, kmph kilometers per hour, kilometres per hour
miles per hour mph miles per hour
knot kn knot(s)
feet per second ft/s
Mach (340.29 m/s) Mach, mach also before its number: Mach 2
metres per second squared m/s² meters per second squared, metres per second squared
feet per second squared ft/s² feet per second squared

Any length divided by any time also works as a speed, such as km/hour or mi/min. A time per distance written as minutes and seconds, such as 5:30/km or 7:30/mi, is a pace; see Pace.

calc
100 km/h in mph gives 62.1371192237 mph
1 kn in km/h gives 1.852 km/h
Mach 1 in km/h gives 1,225.044 km/h

Angle and rotation

Unit Symbols Names
degree °, deg degree(s), degs
radian rad radian(s)
arcminute ′, ' arcminutes
arcsecond ″, " arcseconds
revolution rev revolution(s), turn(s)
revolutions per minute rpm revolutions per minute
revolutions per second rps revolutions per second
radians per second rad/s radians per second

You can write degrees, minutes and seconds together, as in 12° 30′ 15″. After a degree value, ' and " mean arcminutes and arcseconds; after a plain number they mean feet and inches. deg on its own is the angle, including inside sin, cos and tan, while deg C and deg F stay temperatures. A turn is a whole revolution, as fasteners and valves are described: 1/4 turn in degrees is 90°.

Rotation rates and frequencies count the same turns, so they convert into each other: 60 rpm is 1 Hz. A distance per turn times a rotation rate is a speed.

calc
12° 30′ gives 12.5°
1 rev in ° gives 360°
60 rpm in Hz gives 1 Hz
2.136 m * 90 rpm in km/h gives 11.5344 km/h

Temperature

Unit Symbols Names
Celsius °C, ˚C, ℃, C, degC celsius, degrees C, degrees Celsius, centigrade
Fahrenheit °F, ˚F, ℉, F, degF fahrenheit, degrees F, degrees Fahrenheit
kelvin K kelvin

C and F are temperatures, not farads, and C means coulombs only when you convert an electric charge. A lowercase c straight after a number is Celsius in a temperature conversion (20c in F) and for a decimal, a negative number or 100 and over (180c); next to money, before a rate, or for a whole number up to 99 on its own, it’s cents. See Cents and pence. Celsius and Fahrenheit convert and scale normally, but they can’t be squared or multiplied by another unit. gas mark 1 to gas mark 9, and gas mark ¼ and ½, give UK oven temperatures. See Temperature.

A plain degrees converted to a scale is a reading on the other one, as oven settings are written down: 375 degrees in C reads the 375 as Fahrenheit.

calc
20 °C in °F gives 68 °F
98.6 F in C gives 37 °C
180 degrees Celsius in Fahrenheit gives 356 °F
375 degrees in C gives 190.5555555556 °C
gas mark 4 gives 180 °C

Data size and transfer rate

Bytes (B) and bits (b) each come with decimal prefixes, which step by 1,000, and binary prefixes, which step by 1,024. A capital B is a byte and a lower-case b is a bit, so Mb is a megabit.

Prefix Bytes Bits Bytes per second Bits per second
none B, byte(s) bit(s) Bps bps
kilo (1,000) kB, KB, kilobytes kbit, Kb KBps Kbps
mega MB, megabytes Mbit, Mb MBps Mbps
giga GB Gbit, Gb, gigabits GBps Gbps
tera TB Tbit, Tb TBps Tbps
peta PB Pbit PBps Pbps
exa EB Ebit EBps Ebps
zetta ZB Zbit ZBps Zbps
yotta YB Ybit YBps Ybps
kibi (1,024) KiB, kibibytes Kib KiBps Kibps
mebi MiB Mib, mebibits MiBps Mibps
gibi GiB Gib GiBps Gibps
tebi TiB Tib TiBps Tibps
pebi PiB Pib PiBps Pibps
exbi EiB Eib EiBps Eibps
zebi ZiB Zib ZiBps Zibps
yobi YiB Yib YiBps Yibps

Written all in lower case, as people type them, a size counts bytes and a rate counts bits: 2 gb is 2 gigabytes and 320 kbps and 128 kb/s are kilobits per second. That matches how storage and broadband are advertised. Mixed case keeps the strict meaning, so Mb is still a megabit. The rule also wins over other readings of the same letters, so 1013 mb is 1,013 megabytes; write mbar or millibars for air pressure.

calc
1 GB in Gb gives 8 Gbit
1 GB in MiB gives 953.6743164063 MiB
100 Mbps in MBps gives 12.5 MBps
time to download 4 GB at 100 Mbps gives 5 min 20 s
4 GB / 100 mbps gives 5.3333333333 min
128 kb/s * 60 s in MB gives 0.96 MB

Energy and power

Energy

Unit Symbols Names
joule J, kJ, MJ, GJ joule(s), kilojoules, megajoules, gigajoules
calorie cal calorie(s)
kilocalorie kCal, kcal kilocalorie(s)
watt hour Wh, kWh, MWh, GWh, TWh watt hours, kilowatt hours, megawatt hours, gigawatt hours, terawatt hours
watt minute W m watt minutes
watt second W s watt seconds
British thermal unit BTU, Btu BTUs, British thermal units
therm therm(s)

W m is a watt minute, not a watt times a metre.

Power

Unit Symbols Names
watt W, mW, kW, MW, GW, TW watt(s), milliwatts, kilowatts, megawatts, gigawatts, terawatts
peak watt Wp, kWp, kwp the same watts, as solar panels are rated
horsepower hp, bhp horsepower, brake horsepower
calc
1 kWh in MJ gives 3.6 MJ
250 kcal in kJ gives 1,046 kJ
3 kW * 2 hours gives 6 kWh
1 hp in W gives 745.7 W
1 therm in kWh to 1 dp gives 29.3 kWh
3 kW * 4 min gives 0.2 kWh

Force, pressure and torque

Force

Unit Symbols Names
newton N, mN, µN, nN, kN, MN, GN newtons, millinewtons, micronewtons, nanonewtons, kilonewtons, meganewtons, giganewtons
pound-force lbf pounds-force
poundal pdl poundals
kilogram-force kgf kilogram-force, kilograms-force

Pressure

Unit Symbols Names
pascal Pa, hPa, kPa, MPa, GPa pascals, hectopascals, kilopascals, megapascals, gigapascals
bar bar, mbar bars, millibars
atmosphere atm atmospheres
pounds per square inch psi, ksi, Mpsi pounds-force per square inch, kilopounds-force per square inch, megapounds-force per square inch
millimetre of mercury mmHg mm Hg, millimetres of mercury, millimeters of mercury
torr Torr torr

Torque

Unit Symbols Names
newton metre N⋅m, Nm, N m newton meter(s), newton metre(s)
pound-foot lbf⋅ft, lb·ft, lb-ft, lb ft, ft·lb, ft lb pound feet, pound-feet, foot-pounds
pound-inch lbf⋅in, lb-in, lb in, lbf-in pound inch(es), pound-inch(es), inch pound(s), inch-pound(s)
ounce-inch ozf⋅in, oz-in, ozf-in, oz·in ounce inch(es), ounce-inches
calc
2 kN in N gives 2,000 N
1 bar in kPa gives 100 kPa
1 atm in kPa gives 101.325 kPa
1 MPa in bar gives 10 bar
120 mmHg in kPa to 1 dp gives 16 kPa
50 N·m in lb·ft to 1 dp gives 36.9 lbf·ft
10 lb-ft in N·m gives 13.5581794833 N·m
50 lb-in in N·m gives 5.6492414514 N·m
25 oz-in in mN·m gives 176.53875 mN·m

Write a small torque with the pound or ounce first (lb-in, oz-in) or spell it out (inch-pounds). A symbol that starts with in, such as in-lb, reads that in as “convert to” and shows an error.

Electricity and magnetism

Unit Symbols Names
volt V, mV, µV, KV, MV volt(s), millivolt(s), microvolts, kilovolt(s), megavolts
ampere A, mA, µA, kA, amps ampere(s), amp(s), milliampere(s), milliamps, microamps, microamperes, kiloamps, kiloamperes, megaamps, megaamperes
ampere hour Ah, mAh, µAh, kAh, MAh ampere hours, milliampere hours, microampere hours, kiloampere hours, megaampere hours
coulomb C as a conversion target for a charge coulomb(s)
ohm Ω, mΩ, µΩ, kΩ, MΩ ohm(s), milliohms, microohms, kiloohms, megaohms
farad farad(s), millifarads, microfarad(s), kilofarads, megafarads
henry henry, henrys, millihenrys, microhenrys, kilohenrys, megahenrys
siemens siemens, millisiemens, microsiemens, kilosiemens, megasiemens
tesla tesla(s), milliteslas, microteslas, kiloteslas, megateslas
weber Wb, mWb, µWb, kWb, MWb weber(s), milliwebers, microwebers, kilowebers, megawebers
hertz Hz, mHz, µHz, nHz, kHz, MHz, GHz, THz hertz, millihertz, microhertz, nanohertz, kilohertz, megahertz, gigahertz, terahertz

Farads, henrys, siemens and teslas have no symbol, so write their names. F is a temperature and T is read as tonnes. C is Celsius too, except when you convert a charge into it, as in 2 A * 30 min in C. A singular name shows in the plural form in answers: 1 tesla shows 1 teslas.

calc
12 V * 2 amps in W gives 24 W
5 Ω * 2 A gives 10 V
2000 mAh * 3.7 V in Wh gives 7.4 Wh
5000 mAh / 500 mA gives 10 hours
2 A * 30 min in C gives 3,600 coulombs
2.4 GHz in MHz gives 2,400 MHz

Amount of substance

Unit Symbols Names
mole mol mole(s)
millimole mmol millimoles
micromole µmol micromoles
nanomole nmol nanomoles
molar ᴍ molar
calc
1 mol in mmol gives 1,000 mmol
1 molar in mmol/L gives 1,000 mmol/L

Parts per thousand, million and billion

Unit Symbols Names Means
parts per thousand ppt, ‰ per mille one thousandth
parts per million ppm one millionth
parts per billion ppb one thousand-millionth

These work like percentages: take a share of an amount, convert between them and a percentage, and keep their unit through arithmetic. In water they are concentrations too, because a litre weighs a kilogram, so parts per million and milligrams per litre are the same figure. ppt is how salinity is written.

calc
2 ppm in % gives 0.0002%
0.05% in ppm gives 500 ppm
35 ppt of 150 kg gives 5.25 kg
4 * 17.848 ppm gives 71.392 ppm
1 ppm in mg/L gives 1 mg/L
20 mg/L in ppm gives 20 ppm
0.9% in g/L gives 9 g/L
20 ppm * 200 L in g gives 4 g

Fuel economy

Unit Symbols Names
miles per US gallon MPG, mpg miles per gallon, US mpg, mpg (US)
miles per UK gallon UK MPG, UK mpg, mi/UK gal imp mpg, imperial mpg, mpg (UK)
litres per 100 kilometres L/100km, l/100km liters per 100 kilometers, litres per 100 kilometres
litres per kilometre L/km
kilometres per litre km/L, km/l, kmpl kilometers per liter, kilometres per litre

Distance per volume and volume per distance convert into each other, and mi/gal is the same as MPG, whether you convert from it or to it. A plain mpg is miles per US gallon, so write UK mpg for a UK figure. See Fuel economy.

calc
20 km/L in L/100km gives 5 L/100km
7 l/100km in mi/gal to 1 dp gives 33.6 MPG
30 mi/gal in L/100km gives 7.840486119 L/100km
30 UK mpg in L/100km gives 9.4160312111 L/100km

Screen and type

Unit Symbols Names
pixels per inch ppi, PPI, dpi, DPI pixels per inch
pixel px pixel(s)
typographic point pt
em em
rem rem

By default, 1 inch is 96 px, 1 pt is 1⅓ px and 1 em or rem is 16 px. To use a different screen density, add at and a ppi value; see The at and @ operator.

In print arithmetic px is a count and a density relates it to lengths: pixels over a length give a density in PPI, pixels over a density give inches, a length over pixels gives the size of one pixel, and pixels times pixels count pixels, which in MP turns into megapixels. A length converted to pixels comes out whole. Pixel counts show with thousands separators and a space before px.

calc
1 in in px gives 96 px
12 pt in px gives 16 px
1 rem in px gives 16 px
100 px in cm at 96 ppi gives 2.6458333333 cm
6000 px / 40 in gives 150 PPI
420 mm in px at 300 dpi gives 4,961 px
6000 px * 4000 px in MP gives 24 MP