Height Converter — cm to feet & feet to cm
Convert height from centimeters (cm) to feet and inches accurately, or convert feet to cm.
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Convert human height easily between centimeters (cm) and feet and inches (ft/in). Whether you need to fill out a visa application, compare sports stats, or calculate height for ID cards, get instant and precise conversions.
Formula / method
Examples
5' 6.9" (approx. 5 ft 7 in)
5' 8.9" (approx. 5 ft 9 in)
5' 10.9" (approx. 5 ft 11 in)
6' 0.0" (6 ft)
Centimeters to feet and inches
The conversion rests on one exact definition: 1 inch equals 2.54 cm, so 1 foot (12 inches) is 30.48 cm. To convert, divide the height in centimeters by 2.54 to get total inches, then split that into whole feet and the leftover inches. For example, 180 cm is about 70.9 inches, which reads as 5 feet 11 inches.
Rounding and a common trap
The output is feet and inches together, which is not the same as a decimal number of feet. Writing 5 ft 9 in as '5.9 feet' is wrong, because there are 12 inches in a foot, not 10; 5 ft 9 in is closer to 5.75 feet. For reference, 5 ft 6 in is about 167.6 cm and 6 ft 0 in is about 182.9 cm. Since heights rarely land on a perfect whole inch, expect a little rounding in the final figure.
Where it's used
- Converting a height from centimetres to feet and inches for a US or UK form
- Filling in a passport, visa or medical form that uses feet and inches
- Making sense of a foreign height listed only in centimetres
- Comparing heights across metric and imperial sources
- Completing a dating-profile or ID height field
Real-world examples
- 180 cm is about 5 ft 11 in, or 70.9 total inches
- 170 cm is about 5 ft 7 in
- Converting back, 6 ft 0 in is 182.9 cm
A bit of history
Since the international yard-and-pound agreement of 1959, the inch has been defined as exactly 2.54 centimetres, replacing several slightly different national definitions that existed beforehand.
Did you know?
Writing a height like 5 ft 9 in as '5.9 feet' is a common mistake: because a foot has 12 inches rather than 10, 5 ft 9 in is actually about 5.75 feet.
FAQ
How do I convert cm to feet height?
Divide your height in centimeters by 2.54 to find total inches, then divide by 12 to find feet. The remaining decimal multiplied by 12 gives inches. For instance, 175 cm ÷ 2.54 = 68.9 inches = 5 ft 8.9 in.
How do I convert feet and inches back to cm?
Multiply the number of feet by 30.48, multiply inches by 2.54, and add the two results together. For example, 5 ft 10 in = (5 × 30.48) + (10 × 2.54) = 152.4 + 25.4 = 177.8 cm.
What is 180 cm in feet?
180 cm equals 5 feet 10.9 inches, which is commonly rounded to 5 feet 11 inches.
What is 6 ft in cm?
6 feet 0 inches equals exactly 182.88 cm (commonly rounded to 183 cm).
Why is 5 feet 9 inches not written as 5.9 feet?
Because 1 foot contains 12 inches, not 10. 5.9 decimal feet would equal 5 feet and 10.8 inches. 5 ft 9 in is actually 5.75 decimal feet.