Dos and Don'ts: Measurement

How well and how willing a Czech person converts from metric to imperial will vary. I’ve encountered people who are unsure and I’ve encountered people who will automatically convert because I’m an English speaker (actually, I grew up using metric.) If adopting the metric system is really too much for you, there are plenty of conversion tables online.

Weight for Food
Open up most menus and what you’ll notice beside the price is the weight of the meal you’ve ordered, almost always given in grams. This will be the total weight of the serving including the bones, which is why a typical serving of ribs can weigh up to 800 grams.

Drinks
The liter is, as expected, used as the main unit for most liquids from milk to petrol. Even servings of beer are metric, a large is a half-liter and a small is 300 ml. This probably doesn’t matter to most people except Australians who are used to a bewildering array of beer glass measurements. (See bottom of link.) Incidentally, the measurement for the large is also the term for the glass: půllitr. The small glass is referred to as a třetinka, though most people just call it a small (malý). There is also a one liter glass called tuplák. Most pubs don’t serve it.

Clothes and Shoe Sizes
Comparing clothes and shoe sizes is a minefield and one I’m not brave enough to wander into. There is a European standard but then some European countries like France and Italy have other standards for women’s clothes. So rather than offer an inaccurate comparison, I would suggest that you check out this website. Yes, it’s in Czech, but there are pictures for the items and you just need to compare the size (velikost) with the measurement, which is given in metric. The table for shoes offers a more direct comparison with UK and US sizes.

Exceptions
If you really struggle with the metric system, don’t worry. Monitor and TV sizes are often given in inches – yes, even for the Czechs. An inch is palec – which also means thumb and big toe.

Other Dos and Don’ts in the Czech Republic:
– Introductions
– Public Behavior

– Some More Behavior

– Czech Pubs

– Fashion
– Visiting
– Dating
– Shopping
– Public Transport
– Kids
– Dogs
– The Road

– Animal Sounds

– Culinary & Medicinal Customs

– Czech Superstitions

– Neighbors

– Visiting the Doctor
– Money
– Small Talk
– Going Out
– Swearing
– Names
– Camping
– Measurement