Pint facts for kids
A pint is a unit used to measure how much liquid or sometimes dry stuff (like berries!) can fit into a container. It's used in two main systems of measurement: the Imperial system (used in places like the UK) and U.S. customary units (used in the USA). Even though they are both called "pints," they are actually a bit different in size!
For example, an Imperial pint is about 20% bigger than a U.S. pint. Both an Imperial pint and a U.S. pint are equal to half of a quart and one-eighth of a gallon.
Contents
Imperial Pint
The Imperial pint is the standard pint used in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, and Myanmar. You might also find it in other Commonwealth countries, even if they mostly use the metric system now.
In Canada, it can sometimes be confusing because drinks are often sold in U.S. pints, even though the official and legal pint there is the Imperial pint. The Imperial system doesn't have a separate "dry pint" for solids; the same measurement is used for both liquids and dry items.
| Units | Fluid Ounces | Gills | Cups | Pints | Quarts | Gallons | U.S Pints | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pint | 20 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1⁄2 | 1⁄8 | 1.20095 | 568.26125 |
U.S. Wet Pint
The U.S. wet pint, usually just called a "pint" in the United States, is used to measure liquids. It's much more common than the U.S. dry pint, which is for non-liquid items.
| Units | Fluid Ounces | Gills | Cups | Pints | Quarts | Gallons | Imp. Pints | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pint | 16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1⁄2 | 1⁄8 | 0.832674 | 473.176473 |
U.S. Dry Pint
The U.S. dry pint is a special unit used for measuring the volume of solid things, like fruits or vegetables, instead of weighing them. For example, when you buy a "pint of strawberries," it means you're getting a container that holds the volume of one dry pint full of strawberries.
| Units | Dry Pints | Dry Quarts | Dry Gallons | U.S Wet Pints | Imp. Pints | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pint | 1 | 1⁄2 | 1⁄8 | ≈1.16 | ≈ 0.97 | 550.6104713575 |
How Pints Are Used Today
- Both the wet and dry U.S. pints are still very commonly used in the United States.
- In Canada, pints are often used for alcohol. However, the size of a "pint" can sometimes vary, from 12 fluid ounces to 20 fluid ounces. Sometimes, it's even incorrectly given in U.S. fluid ounces.
- In the United Kingdom and Ireland, milk, alcohol, and cooking ingredients are often measured in pints. However, because of European Union rules, most liquids are now also shown in metric units (like milliliters or liters), sometimes alongside the pint measurement.
- In the United Kingdom, milk is often sold in metric amounts that are close to Imperial pints.
Images for kids
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Blueberries labelled in English (1 US DRY PINT) and French (1 CHOPINE SÈCHE US 551 ml) for sale in the US and Canada
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Pints are commonly used for the sale of milk in the United Kingdom. The label gives both the metric and the imperial volume.
See also
In Spanish: Pinta para niños
