What Is Arshin?
Arshin is an old unit of length that was used mainly in Russia. People used it to measure cloth, rooms and many other things before the metric system became common. One arshin is a bit shorter than three quarters of a meter.
Definition
In the Russian system, one arshin is fixed at exactly 0.7112 meters.
- In meters, 1 arshin = 0.7112 m
- In centimeters, 1 arshin = 71.12 cm
- In inches, 1 arshin is about 28 inches
- In feet, 1 arshin is a little more than 2.3 feet
Inside the old Russian system, the arshin was split into smaller parts.
- 1 arshin = 16 vershoks
- 3 arshins = 1 sazhen
So the arshin was a middle size unit. It was longer than a foot, but shorter than a sazhen.
History / Origin
The word arshin likely comes from a Turkish or Persian word linked to the length of a forearm. In many old cultures, people used parts of the body to guess lengths, like a foot or a cubit. The arshin followed this idea.
Russia used the arshin for several centuries. Merchants used it to measure cloth in markets. Builders and craftsmen also used it for work and trade. It became one of the most common everyday units of length in the Russian Empire.
In the early twentieth century, Russia chose the metric system. The arshin and other old units were slowly replaced by meters and centimeters. By the 1920s, the arshin was no longer used in official rules and law, but it stayed in language and stories.
Symbol & Abbreviation
There was no single world wide symbol for the arshin, but some short forms were used in Russian texts.
- Written in Russian letters as арш
- Sometimes written in Latin letters as arsh or arshin
In modern writing about old units, authors often just write the full word arshin for clarity.
Current Use Around the World
Today the arshin is not used in daily life or in science. Meters and centimeters have fully replaced it for real measurements.
However, the arshin is still important in a few areas.
- History and research, historians use it to study old building plans, maps and trade records.
- Literature and culture, the word arshin appears in classic Russian books, songs and sayings, so readers need to know what it means.
- Museums, old rulers and measuring sticks marked in arshins are shown as historical objects.
Some other countries once had similar sounding units with slightly different lengths, but they are also no longer used in modern measuring systems.
Example Conversions
Here are some easy examples to see how arshins compare with meters and feet.
Arshin to meters
- 1 arshin = 0.7112 m
- 2 arshins = 2 × 0.7112 m = 1.4224 m
- 5 arshins = 5 × 0.7112 m = 3.556 m
Meters to arshins
To go from meters to arshins, divide by 0.7112.
- 1 meter ≈ 1 ÷ 0.7112 ≈ 1.41 arshins
- 2 meters ≈ 2 ÷ 0.7112 ≈ 2.81 arshins
- 5 meters ≈ 5 ÷ 0.7112 ≈ 7.03 arshins
Arshin to feet and inches
Use 1 arshin ≈ 28 inches.
- 1 arshin ≈ 28 inches ≈ 2 feet 4 inches
- 3 arshins ≈ 3 × 28 = 84 inches ≈ 7 feet
Cloth example
If a piece of cloth was 4 arshins long:
- Length in meters, 4 × 0.7112 m = 2.8448 m
- Length in feet, 4 × 2.34 feet ≈ 9.36 feet
Related Units
The arshin was part of a bigger group of traditional Russian length units.
- Vershok, a small unit used for fine measurement.
- Sazhen, a larger unit often used in building and land measurement.
- Foot, another body based unit used in many countries, shorter than an arshin.
- Cubit, an old forearm based unit from other cultures, similar in idea to the arshin.
- Meter, the modern base unit of length in the metric system that replaced the arshin in Russia.
FAQs
How long is one arshin in meters exactly
One Russian arshin is defined as exactly 0.7112 meters. This is the value used by historians and scientists when they convert old measurements.
How many arshins are in one meter
To find this, divide 1 meter by 0.7112. The result is about 1.41 arshins. So one meter is a little more than one and two fifths arshins.
Is the arshin still used today
The arshin is not used for real measuring today. It appears mainly in history books, old literature, museums and studies of old buildings and trades.
What body part is the arshin based on
The idea behind the arshin is linked to the length of a human arm from shoulder or elbow to fingertips. Many early units of length were inspired by body parts, because they were always available.
How many arshins are in one sazhen
In the traditional Russian system, 1 sazhen equals 3 arshins. That means a sazhen is three times as long as an arshin.
Why is it useful to know about the arshin
Knowing the arshin helps you understand old Russian maps, trade records, clothing sizes and classic books. It also shows how people measured the world before the metric system.