Centimeters to Inches (cm to in) Converter

Enter a length in centimeters to get inches, both as a decimal and as the nearest 1/16 inch you would read off a US tape measure.

1 inch = 2.54 cm exactly, so inches = cm รท 2.54

From
To
0.3937007874
Try:
Step-by-stepcm โ†’ in
11 in = 2.54 cmformula
21 รท 2.54substitute
3โ‰ˆ 0.3937007874 inresult
4โ‰ˆ 3/8 innearest 1/16 in
URLiunitconverter.com/length/centimeters-to-inches?value=1Open
1 cm in every unit
mm
Millimeter
1 mm = 0.1 cm
10 mm
cm
Centimeter
1 cm = 10 mm
1 cm
m
Meter
SI base unit
0.01 m
km
Kilometer
1 km = 1,000 m
0.00001 km
in
Inch
1 in = 2.54 cm exactly
0.39370079 in
ft
Foot
1 ft = 12 in
0.032808399 ft
yd
Yard
1 yd = 3 ft
0.010936133 yd
mi
Mile
1 mi = 5,280 ft
0.0000062137119 mi

Centimeters to Inches Formula

inches = centimeters รท 2.54

One inch is 2.54 centimeters, by definition, so the conversion is exact. For example, 10 cm รท 2.54 = 3.937008 in.

Reading the Result on a Tape Measure

American rulers and tape measures are marked in fractions, usually down to 1/16 inch, not in decimals. A decimal result like 3.937 in is hard to find on a tape, so the converter also rounds to the nearest sixteenth.

CentimetersDecimal inchesNearest 1/16 in
1 cm0.394 in3/8 in
2 cm0.787 in13/16 in
5 cm1.969 in1 15/16 in
10 cm3.937 in3 15/16 in
15 cm5.906 in5 7/8 in
20 cm7.874 in7 7/8 in
30 cm11.811 in11 13/16 in

A sixteenth of an inch is about 1.6 mm, so the fraction is never more than 0.8 mm away from the exact value.

Waist Sizes Bought Online

Jeans and trousers sold in the US and UK are sized by waist in inches, while a tape measure at home may only show centimeters. Measure your waist in cm, convert, and round to the nearest whole size.

Waist (cm)Waist (in)Typical label
71 cm28 inW28
76 cm29.9 inW30
81 cm31.9 inW32
86 cm33.9 inW34
91 cm35.8 inW36
97 cm38.2 inW38

Centimeters to Inches Table

Centimeters (cm)Inches (in)Nearest 1/16 in
1 cm0.3937 in3/8 in
2 cm0.7874 in13/16 in
3 cm1.1811 in1 3/16 in
4 cm1.5748 in1 9/16 in
5 cm1.9685 in1 15/16 in
10 cm3.937 in3 15/16 in
15 cm5.9055 in5 7/8 in
20 cm7.874 in7 7/8 in
25 cm9.8425 in9 13/16 in
30 cm11.811 in11 13/16 in
40 cm15.748 in15 3/4 in
50 cm19.685 in19 11/16 in
60 cm23.622 in23 5/8 in
75 cm29.5276 in29 1/2 in
100 cm39.3701 in39 3/8 in
150 cm59.0551 in59 1/16 in

Common Questions

How many inches is 1 cm?
1 cm is 0.3937 inches, because an inch is exactly 2.54 cm and 1 รท 2.54 = 0.3937.
Why is an inch exactly 2.54 cm?
In 1959 the US, UK and other Commonwealth countries agreed to define the yard as exactly 0.9144 meters. That makes the inch (1/36 of a yard) exactly 2.54 cm.
What is 30 cm in inches?
30 cm is 11.81 inches, a little under one foot (12 in = 30.48 cm).
Is there a quick way to estimate cm to inches?
Multiply by 4 and divide by 10. For 50 cm that gives 20 in, against an exact 19.69 in. The shortcut is about 1.6% high.