Milliliters to Liters

Small containers are labeled in milliliters and large ones in liters, and comparing them means switching units. A 330 mL can is 0.33 L, so a six-pack holds 1.98 L, slightly less than a 2 L bottle. A 750 mL wine bottle is 0.75 L, a magnum is 1.5 L, and a 5 L wine box holds the equivalent of 6.7 bottles. Unit prices on European shelves are often quoted per liter, which is easy to check once the label's milliliters become liters.

Engines are another place milliliters hide. Displacement is given in cubic centimeters, and 1 cc equals 1 mL, so a 1,598 cc engine is sold as a 1.6 L and a 2,995 cc one as a 3.0 L.

Hydration advice is commonly given in liters, while bottles and glasses are counted in milliliters: eight 250 mL glasses make 2 L. Hospitals record fluids the same way, so a 500 mL IV bag is 0.5 L. Air travel adds its own: in the EU and UK the standard rule is that each liquid container holds at most 100 mL and all of them fit in a single bag of about 1 L.

Rain is measured in millimeters, but one millimeter of rain falling on one square meter is exactly one liter, or 1,000 mL. That is a handy way to size a water butt: 20 mm of rain on a 50 m² roof is about 1,000 L.

When dividing by 1,000, move the decimal point three places to the left and add zeros if needed: 45 mL is 0.045 L, not 0.45 L. Labels with a decimal comma, common in Europe and Latin America, write 0,5 L for half a liter. Medical syringes may be marked in cc, which is the same thing as mL.

Use liters to milliliters for the reverse. For US cups and fluid ounces, see milliliters to cups or milliliters to fluid ounces.