How to Talk about Dimensions in Spanish

Quick Answer

Whether it’s calculating the measurements of a wall or reading the instructions for building your new dresser, knowing how to read and understand measurements in Spanish is fundamental.

In this article, we’ll show you the primary vocabulary associated with calculating dimensions, or las dimensiones, and we’ll also explain the major differences in the way dimensions are measured in the U.S. and the Spanish-speaking world.

Length, Width, and Height

Before you are able to calculate the dimensions of anything, there’s a lot of fundamental vocabulary to learn. Below, take a gander at a list of the most essential words you should learn to calculate something’s dimensions.

Spanish	English
largo	length
longitud	length
ancho	width
anchura	width
altura	height
estatura	height (of a person)
punto	point
línea	line
ángulo	angle
ángulo recto	right angle
perímetro	perimeter
circunferencia	circumference
área	area
volumen	volume
bidimensional	two-dimensional
tridimensional	three-dimensional
medida	measurement
trazar	to draw (such as a line between two points)
medir	to measure
regla	ruler
cinta métrica	tape measure

Now that you have a list of fundamental vocabulary at your fingertips, let’s take a look at a couple of examples for how we might use this vocabulary.

examples
Pásame la cinta métrica, por favor. Necesito medir la longitud de la mesa antes de comprar el mantel. Pass me the tape measure, please. I need to measure the length of the table before buying the tablecloth.
Usa la regla para trazar una línea en la pared después de haber calculado su largo y ancho. Use the ruler to draw a line on the wall after having calculated its length and width.

Three-Dimensional Notation

When calculating the area or volume of any espacio tridimensional, or three-dimensional space, you’ll need to know how to translate the notation for expressing square or cubic measurements. Make sure to use cuadradowhen referring to area and cúbicowhen referring to volume.

Spanish	English	Shorthand notation
cuarenta y dos metros cuadrados	forty-two square meters	42m2, 42m²
cuarenta y dos metros cúbicos	forty-two cubic meters	42m3, 42m³

Inches to Meters

The United States uses a very specific system of measurements (called the American System) different from el sístema métrico, or the Metric System, which is used by the rest of the world, including Spanish-speaking countries. That means that when calculating the dimensions of any object in the Spanish-speaking world, you’ll want to look at the other side of your ruler, the side that shows you milímetrosand centímetros, millimeters and centimeters. Check out the tables below to help you with all of your conversions!

Metric System

Spanish	English	Converts to
milímetro	millimeter	1/1,000th of a meter or .039 inches
centímetro	centimeter	1/100th of a meter or .39 inches
metro	meter	39 inches or 3.2 feet
kilómetro	kilometer	1,000 meters or .62 miles

American System

Spanish	English	Converts to
pulgada	inch	2.54 centimeters
pie	foot	.3 meters or 12 inches
yarda	yard	.91 meters or 3 feet
milla	mile	1.6 kilometers or 5,280 feet

1x1, 2x2, 3x3...

When talking about the dimensions in length, width, or height of any object or space, we usually use the word by as the verbal substitution for the x between units of measurement. In Spanish, one would use the word porinstead of by as the verbal substitution for x.