A mile is a mile, right?
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Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
A Scandinavian mile or mil, excluding Denmark, is equivalent to ten kilometres or six point two miles.
The mile, formerly known as the English mile, is now called ‘the international mile,’ and is not seen on signposts in Scandinavia, the kilometre being the standard for published distances. This is to avoid any confusion, because in informal speech, ‘mil’ is still used. Five kilometres is referred to as ‘half a mil.’
‘Mil’ is also used when business travel is calculated for tax reasons, and for publishing odometer readings when second-hand cars are being advertised for sale, even though car odometers show kilometres.
If, while walking in the mountains, you should come across a signpost in Norway or Sweden, showing a distance in ‘mil,’ be prepared for a much longer trek than you might have anticipated. Five mil will equate to fifty kilometres or thirty-one (international) miles.
I knew changing from Imperial to Metric in 1966 would take a while for Australians to get used to, especially for older people. But you are referring to the UK and Scandinavia in 2025. Why are miles (of any length) still an issue?
ReplyDeleteOld habits die hard. Scandinavia uses kilometres now. UK still struggles with metric measurements, no matter what the age of the people.
DeleteWhen my former school board paid for travel, they used kilometerage which seemed so precious. Man, just call it mileage. We all know what oyu mean. Anyway, I would die walking 100 MILs in anyone’s shoes. Even 1 mil would be too much for my poor foot.
ReplyDeleteSome people take themselves altogether too seriously.
DeleteGood to know! I couldn't go one-tenth mil, let alone 1 mil, these days. (I'm working up to it, though. The one-tenth, that is.)
ReplyDeleteLikewise!
Deletedistance measurements are moot when hiking up hill...
ReplyDeleteVery true!
DeleteGood to know about the Scandinavian Mil being 10 km or 6+ miles. I'll probably never get to Scandinavia but I can throw out that bit of knowledge if the subject ever comes up.
ReplyDeleteIt would be quite impressive, and probably a conversation stopper! (It's the sort of thing I do, unconsciously, all the time.)
DeleteIf you were trekking round the world it really could get complicated. I'm good with kilometres. Not spelled kilomet-er
ReplyDeleteYes, the spelling is all important.
DeleteIt was bad enough in England where it took forever to click over one mile, rather than a kilometre. Travel seemed so slow, so I would not want to be using Swedish mils. "Be quiet kids. There is one mil until we are there".
ReplyDeleteNot something to be contemplated with pleasure!
DeleteI'm more than willing to hike 5 mi. But I'm not going to hike 31 so I best not go to norway, lol.
ReplyDeleteLOL!
DeleteI had no idea. Since I'm not a traveler I'm unlikely to ever be in Norway or Sweden but sill interesting and I learned something new today
ReplyDeleteMy husband had some experience of this 'mileage' in Norway, coming across an old sign out in the middle of nowhere . . .
ReplyDeleteI still haven't been able to get to grips with kilometres. It will always be miles for me in my head!
ReplyDeleteUK has not adapted well to metric measurements, I think. I certainly haven't.
ReplyDeleteI use celsius and metres, but I struggle with kilometres.
ReplyDeleteI use celsius, but stick with pounds and ounces, feet and inches. LKuddite? Me?
Delete... and here's me still getting used to yards and metres!
ReplyDeleteOh and of course stones/pounds/kilograms!
Happy Easter Weekend Wishes.
All the best Jan
So long as we don't confuse inches and centimetres and assume they're interchangeable . . .
DeleteHere in the US we absolutely refuse to go metric! A stubborn lot.
ReplyDeleteIt's called 'being independent.' Much politer than stubborn!
DeleteInteresting. I always thought a mile , no matter where, was 5280 ft.
ReplyDelete😉😀
DeleteKilometers and miles, apples and oranges.
ReplyDeleteToo right - don't confuse the two.
DeleteI will try to keep that in mind for any future travels to Scandinavia! I've always wondered how miles compare across international boundaries.
ReplyDeleteConfusion reigns.
DeleteSomething I learnt in school about 70 years ago, there are 1760 yds in a mile and 63360 inches..I don't know if I've remember correctly?
ReplyDeleteDon't ask me - I'm still remembering pints and quarts, farthings and crowns.
ReplyDeleteAnd here I was thinking the UK had actually got used to the metric system by now. As for Sweden, yes, road signs here show distances in km (kilometer) but when *talking* about longer distances we often use "mil" (1 mil=10 km). That's been the same all my life (and long before that). - No plural ending used for mil in Swedish, by the way - whether 1 mil, 10 mil or 100 mil... etc. (And the same goes for meter, or kilometer.)
ReplyDeleteI've adjusted the 'grammar' regarding mil - thank you.😀
ReplyDeleteMy, that is confusing!
ReplyDeleteIt certainly could be, if you weren't aware . . .
DeleteHere in the United States, we have to deal with our peculiar measurements of weight and distance. A family member works in an industry where they commonly use metric and member has to go back and forth between the two. It isn't fun.
ReplyDeleteWe seem stuck in the middle, too, or is it just me?
DeleteI'd never heard of a Scandinavian mile or mil. Good to know! xxx
ReplyDeleteWho would have thought?
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