センチメートル
せんちめーとる
noun
centimeter
1.
centimeter; cm
A unit of length equal to one hundredth of a meter. The everyday unit of length in Japan for small-to-medium measurements such as clothing sizes, furniture, and body measurements. Often shortened to センチ in casual speech.
身長は175センチメートルです。
I am 175 centimeters tall.
このテーブルの幅は90センチメートルある。
This table is 90 centimeters wide.
雪が一晩で約30センチメートルも積もった。
About 30 centimeters of snow piled up in a single night.
Japan uses the metric system, and センチメートル (often written cm) is the standard unit for everyday length measurements. In casual speech and writing, the shortened form センチ is far more common than the full form.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 何センチメートル: how many centimeters
- センチメートル単位: in units of centimeters
- ～センチメートル伸びる: to grow by ~ centimeters
- ～センチメートル離れる: to be ~ centimeters apart
SIMILAR WORDS:
- センチ: centimeter — the casual shortened form, used far more often in daily conversation
- ミリメートル: millimeter — one tenth of a centimeter; used for finer measurements
- メートル: meter — one hundred centimeters; used for longer distances
- 尺: shaku — traditional Japanese unit (~30.3 cm), now rarely used outside traditional crafts
USAGE:
When writing, the abbreviation cm is extremely common. In speech, センチ is used almost exclusively for body and object measurements (e.g., 身長170センチ). The full form センチメートル appears mainly in technical, educational, or formal contexts.