French Units....

For an American, many things seem more difficult due to the fact that the French (and Europeans, and in fact most of the rest of the world...) use different units. Some of them are as arbitrary as the American ones : see sizes, others are much simpler : see metric, and for others, it is a different way of seeing the same things : see differences.

Change from one scale to another...

The sizes for clothes, shoes, etc... are based on numbers which do not make sense and are different from one country to another. Here are the tables of conversion :	Now you can go shopping..... and read about the French woman.
Men's shoes : if you are a US "9", it is a French "42", and the table is :	USA  6 1/2  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  France  39  40  41  42  43  44 1/2  46  47
Women's shoes : if you are a US "6", it is a French "37", and the table is :	USA  3 1/2  4  4 1/2  5  5 1/2  6  6 1/2  7  7 1/2  8  8 1/2  France  34  35  35 1/2  36  36 1/2  37  37 1/2  38  38 1/2  39  39 1/2
Men's shirts : if you are a US "16 1/2", it is a French "42", and the table is :	USA  14 1/2  15  15 1/2  16  16 1/2  17  17 1/2  18  France  37  38  39  41  42  43  44  45
Men's suits : if you are a US "42", you are a French "52", and the table is :	USA  34  36  38  40  42  44  46  48  France  44  46  48  50  52  54  56  58
Women's dresses, coats, skirts : if you are a US "10", you are a French "40", and the table is :	USA  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  France  36  38    40    42    44    46
Women's blouses : if you are a US "12" you are a French "40" and the table is :	USA  10  12  14  16  18  20  France  38  40  42  44  46  48

USEFUL TIPS....In France (and in most of the world except the U.S.A.), "12,500" (with a comma) means twelve and a half (and not twelve thousand and five hundred) and "12.500" (with a dot) means twelve thousand and five hundred. "9/5/2003" means May 9, 2003 and NOT September 5, 2003

Think metric...

The French highly value "logical" concepts. They have invented the metric system, which is "logical" ! The concept is that all units are related by a multiple of 10, and are qualified by a prefix which indicates how many times 10 is used . Example : length in meters 10 metres = one DECAmètre : "deca" means 10 100 mètres = one HECTOmètre (and of course = 10 decamètres) : "hecto" means 100 1000 mètres = one KILOmètre (and of course =10 hectomètres etc...) : "kilo" means 1000 etc.... for larger lengths (MEGA = 1 000 000, GIGA = 1 000 000 000, TERA = 1 000 000 000 000) and for smaller units : 1/10 mètre = one DECImètre : "deci" means one tenth 1/100 mètre = one CENTImètre (and of course = 1/10 decimètre) : "centi" means 1/100 1/1000 mètre = one MILLImètre (and of course = 1/10 CENTImètre) : "milli" means 1/1000 etc.... for smaller lengths (MICRO = 1/1 000 000, NANO = 1/1 000 000 000, PICO = 1/1 000 000 000 000, etc...) Replace "mètre" by "litre" and you have the scale of volumes, by "gramme" and you have the scale of weights, etc...

Questions : How many square meters in a square kilometer ? Answer : 1000 x 1000 = one million A liter is a 10 by 10 by 10 centimeter cube . How many liters in one cubic meter ? Answer : 10 x 10 x 10 = one thousand etc... Various conversions (with approximation for frequently used figures) : Inches : 1 in = 2,54 centimeters (1 sq.in = 6,452 cm2, 1 cu.in = 16,387 cm3) Feet : 1 ft = 30,48 centimeters (1 sq.ft = 0,093 m2 i.e. roughly 1 m2 = 10 sq.ft, 1 cu ft = 0,028 m3) Miles : 1 mi = 1,609 kilometers ( 1 sq.mi = 2,589 km2 i.e. roughly 1 km2 = 0,4 sq.mi) Acres : 1 acre = 0,4047 hectares i.e. roughly 1 hectare = 2 acres Ounces : 1 oz = 28,349 grammes i.e. roughly 1 kilogramme = 35 oz Pounds : 1 lb = 0,453 kilogramme i.e. roughly 1 kilogramme = 2, 2 lb US Gallon : 1 gal = 3,785 liters i.e. roughly 1 liter = 1/ 4 gal = 1 quart More to come

DID YOU KNOW THAT....? The Metric System was established during the French Revolution to put an end to the extremely complicated situation of the various units, which varied from one region to the other, and set up a much simpler system. It took more than one generation to be the only system used (and, still, some old units, like "stères","brassée", "lieue", etc... are sometimes used). But in every day life, the system is based on very simple round numbers : one cubic meter of water weighs one ton (i.e. 1000 kilos), water freezes at 0° centigrade and boils at 100 degrees, etc...

Give up (too complicated)...

In France, you do not measure the mileage in "miles per gallon" but in "number of liters per 100 kilometers" : X liters/100 km = 235/ X miles per gallon or Y miles per gallon = 235/Y liters/100 km (i.e. : " 6 liters/100 km equals 235/6 = 39 miles per gallon)

The conversion between Celsius and Farenheit is also a tricky one : °F = 32 + 9 x °C / 5 or °C = 5 x °F / 9 - 17,8. Just remember : water freezes at 32°F (ice cubes for your Martini= 0°C : simpler !) and boils at 212°F (water for your tea = 100 °C : simpler !) More to come

DID YOU KNOW THAT....? The French still use old units in everyday life. For instance you can buy butter, meat or vegetables using "livres" or "demi-livre". Conveniently enough, a "livre" is the old unit for pound and is close to the US pound (one livre = 500 grammes when the pound is 453 grammes). Now you can buy food in a French "marché" ! Other old units include the "stère" (one cubic meter of logs) used by all foresters, the "mile" (nautical : one mile = 1852 mètres) used by all sailors, etc...