You're standing in a clothing store in Paris or maybe filling out a visa application for a trip to Australia, and suddenly, there it is. The metric system. You know you're roughly average height, but the paper wants centimeters. You write down 164. Then, five minutes later, you’re trying to explain how tall you are to a friend back home who only speaks in feet and inches.
Converting 164 cm to feet and inches isn't just about punching numbers into a calculator. It’s about understanding where you fit in the world.
Honestly, 164 centimeters is one of those "in-between" heights. It’s not quite 5'5", but it's definitely not short. If you do the raw math, you get something like 5.38058 feet. But nobody says that. If you told a date you were five-point-three-eight feet tall, they’d probably walk away. You need the breakdown. You need the "feet and inches" version that actually makes sense when you're buying a pair of jeans or comparing yourself to a Hollywood celebrity.
The Quick Math: Breaking Down 164 cm to Feet and Inches
Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way first. One inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters. To get from 164 cm to inches, you divide 164 by 2.54. That gives you roughly 64.56 inches. Since there are 12 inches in a foot, you take that 64.56 and divide it by 12.
You get 5 feet with about 4.56 inches left over.
So, 164 cm is approximately 5 feet 4 and a half inches.
Most people just round it. If you’re feeling generous, you call it 5'5". If you're at the doctor and they’re being strict, they’ll mark you down as 5'4.5". It’s a height that sits right in the middle of the pack for women globally and on the shorter side for men, though height averages vary wildly depending on whether you’re in the Netherlands or Vietnam.
Why Does This Specific Conversion Matter?
Precision is weirdly important in some industries. Take aviation or medical records. If a pilot’s height is recorded incorrectly, it can actually affect seat ergonomics or reach distances in older cockpit designs. While 164 cm is well within the "normal" range for most cockpits, those half-inches matter when you're talking about safety margins.
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Then there’s the fashion world.
If you’re 164 cm, you’re often stuck between "Regular" and "Petite" sizes. Most standard clothing lines are designed for a "fit model" who is around 172 cm (5'7" to 5'8"). If you’re 164 cm, you’ve probably noticed that trousers are almost always two inches too long. You're living in a 5'4" world that's being sold 5'7" clothes. It’s annoying. You end up spending a lot of money at the tailor, or you become an expert at the double-cuff roll on your jeans.
The Global Context of 164 cm
How tall is 164 cm, really? It depends on who you're standing next to.
In the United States, the average height for an adult female is about 162 cm (5'4"). So, at 164 cm, you’re actually slightly taller than the average American woman. You’re effectively "tall-average." However, if you’re a man at 164 cm, you’re roughly 5 inches shorter than the US male average of 175 cm (5'9").
But move that same 164 cm person to the Philippines or Guatemala, and they might feel quite tall. In those regions, the average height for men is often right around the 163-165 cm mark. Height is relative. It’s a social construct as much as it is a biological measurement. We get so caught up in the numbers that we forget that 164 cm looks different in a crowd in Tokyo than it does in a crowd in Copenhagen.
Practical Situations Where 164 cm Shows Up
Think about your car.
Automotive engineers at companies like Toyota or Ford use "dummies" based on 50th percentile measurements. Because 164 cm is so close to the global average for women, cars are actually designed specifically for you to be comfortable. Your sightlines over the dashboard are usually perfect. Your feet reach the pedals without needing a booster or sliding the seat so far forward that your chest hits the steering wheel.
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- Fitness and BMI: When calculating your Body Mass Index, 164 cm is your baseline. A "healthy" weight range for someone who is 164 cm is roughly between 50 kg and 67 kg.
- Social Media and Dating: People lie. It’s a fact of life. You’ll often see people who are 162 cm claiming they are 164 cm because "5'4 and a half" sounds better than "barely 5'4."
- Interior Design: Standard kitchen counter heights are roughly 91 cm (36 inches). At 164 cm, this is ergonomically ideal. You aren't hunching over to chop onions, and you aren't reaching up awkwardly.
Common Mistakes When Converting Metric to Imperial
People mess this up all the time. The biggest mistake? Dividing by 3 instead of 2.54 because they're trying to do "quick math" in their head. Or, they forget that there are 12 inches in a foot, not 10.
I’ve seen people argue that 164 cm is 5'6" because they did $164 / 30$ (rounding the foot to 30 cm). Don't do that. You’ll end up buying the wrong size bed frame or, worse, giving a contractor the wrong measurements for a built-in bookshelf.
Always use the 2.54 constant.
- 164 / 2.54 = 64.566 inches.
- 64.566 / 12 = 5.38 feet.
- 0.38 of a foot is NOT 3.8 inches.
- 0.38 x 12 = 4.56 inches.
That last step is where everyone trips. Decimals of a foot are not the same as inches. You have to multiply the remainder by 12 to get the actual inch count. It’s a bit of a headache, but it saves you from looking silly when you're trying to be precise.
Celebs Who Stand at 164 cm
Sometimes it helps to have a visual. Who else is 164 cm?
Jennie from Blackpink is often cited around this height. So is Jennifer Aniston (though some sources claim she's 165 cm, she's firmly in that 5'4" to 5'5" range). Victoria Beckham is another one. When you see these women on screen, they often look much taller because of footwear choices—hello, six-inch heels—and clever camera angles.
This is the "Power Height." It’s tall enough to command a room with the right shoes, but short enough to fit comfortably into an economy airplane seat. It’s the best of both worlds, honestly.
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How to Measure Yourself Accurately in Centimeters
If you aren't sure if you're exactly 164 cm, stop using a floppy sewing tape measure. They stretch over time.
Find a hard, flat floor—no carpet. Stand with your heels, glutes, and shoulders against a wall. Look straight ahead; don't look up or down, as that changes the tilt of your skull. Have someone place a flat book on your head, making sure it’s level, and mark the wall with a pencil. Use a metal measuring tape to get the distance from the floor to that mark.
If you hit 164 cm, you’re exactly $5'4 \frac{1}{2}"$.
The Wrap-Up on 164 cm
At the end of the day, 164 cm is a versatile height. It’s the height of Hollywood icons and the height the world’s engineers use to make sure chairs and cars actually work for people. It’s a number that bridges the gap between the average and the statuesque.
If you need to use this measurement for a formal document, always use 5'4.5" to be as accurate as possible. For casual conversation, "five-four" or "five-five" both work, depending on how much you want to round up.
To make use of this measurement practically, start checking the "inseam" on your pants. For someone who is 164 cm, a 28 to 30-inch inseam is usually the sweet spot for full-length trousers. Anything longer will require a trip to the tailor or a very creative folding job. If you are tracking fitness goals, remember that 164 cm provides a solid frame for building lean muscle without looking "bulky" too quickly, a common concern at this height. Check your posture, too; losing just a centimeter to a slouch can make you look much shorter than you actually are.
Next Steps for Accuracy
- Check your footwear: Remember that standard sneakers add about 2-3 cm to your height, while boots can add up to 5 cm.
- Verify your passport: Many countries require height in centimeters; ensure you use 164 and not a rounded imperial conversion to avoid discrepancies.
- Adjust your workspace: If you are 164 cm, set your monitor height so the top third of the screen is at eye level while sitting, which usually means a slightly lower chair setting than the "standard" office default.