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Is 5’1 short for a woman? An honest 5’1 height guide

Is 5’1 short for a woman? An honest 5’1 height guide

Is 5’1 short? Or is 5’1 tall? This is the question that we’ll be clearing up today.

As you might have guessed already, a height of 5’1 is pretty for short. But depending on your age, gender, and where you live, a height of 5 foot 1 inch might be perceived differently. 

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How tall is 5’1 in centimeters?

Person holding a measuring tape

How tall is 5’1? In centimeters, the height of 5 feet 1 inch works out to 154.94 cm, which is equal to 1.5494 meters.

There are 61 inches in five foot one.

How tall is 5’1 for a person? In general, a height of 5’1 is a few inches smaller than average for a woman but extremely small for a man.

A height of 5ft 1in is less short for elderly people since they tend to be shorter than the younger generation.

Additionally, in taller places throughout the world, such as Northern Europe, a height of 5’1 is more likely to be perceived as very short because there is a higher proportion of people who are taller than 5’1.

Related: How much should a 5’1 female weigh?

Is 5’1 short for a woman?

A woman measuring her height

Is 5’1 short for a woman? Yes, a height of 5’1 is definitely short for a woman because 5’1 women are, statistically, 3 inches shorter than average for a female.

Now, some 5’1 girls who are still growing might exceed their current height. But for a fully grown adult woman, the height of 5’1 is undeniably short and, depending on who you ask, may even be in the very short category.

Personally, I’d put a 5’1 woman on the lower end of short but not quite into the very short category. Anything under 5’1, however, I would definitely categorize as really short.

A 5 foot 1 inch woman would, statistically, be taller than around 15% of the other women that she encounters. Obviously, this means that if you’re 5ft 1in, then roughly 85% of women are likely to be taller than you.

Still, many taller women wish that they were petite, which is something that a 5’1″ woman naturally has in abundance.

How short is 5’1 for a man?

A man looking thoughful

How short is 5’1 for a man? Statistically, a height of 5’1 is 8 inches shorter than average for a man. This means that a 5’1 man will look very short next to most other men that he comes into contact with.

Indeed, a height of 5’1″ would put a man well below the 5th height percentile, meaning that at least 95% of other men that he encounters would likely be taller than him.

Obviously, every boy is 5’1 at some point during his physical development. So a 5’1 boy who’s still growing can exceed his current 5’1 stature if he has a growth spurt.

Although you may see a 5’1 male from time to time, it’s very rare for a man to only be 5 feet 1 inch tall. This may put him at a disadvantage seeing as research shows that women tend to prefer men who are taller than themselves. [1]

Yet, there are still a decent number of women who are under 5 foot 1 inch tall, so, in this sense, a 5’1 man still has some options available.

Is 5’1.5 short for a girl?

A woman measuring her height

Is 5’1.5 short for a girl? Yes, a height of 5’1.5 is definitely short for a girl because it’s 2.5 inches shorter than average for a woman. 

Obviously, there are still plenty of women who are 5’1 ½, and if you go outside for any length of time, you’ll probably see a few of them.

As mentioned, older women tend to be shorter than younger women, so heights like 5’1 or 5’1 ½ are a bit more common among the older generations.

Of course, it goes without saying that a height of 5 foot 1 and a half inches is very short for a man, seeing as most men are over 7 inches taller than this height.

What does 5’1 look like?

A 4 feet 11 girl wondering if 4'11 is short for a woman

What does 5’1 look like? A 5’1 woman looks petite and noticeably smaller than average for a female, but not absolutely tiny. In this sense, 5’1 is a good height for a woman.

On the other hand, a 5’1 man will look very small indeed because such a height would mean that, on average, other men are around 8 inches taller than him. Most other women would be taller than him as well.

Of course, a growing person who’s 5’1 looks perfectly normal because anyone who’s taller than 5’1 logically had to be 5’1 at some point during their physical development.

That said, if a very young person is 5’1, then they might stand out as being very tall for their age.

5’1 height comparison

A tall and short woman stood next to each other

This 5’1 height comparison will help you to understand just how tall or how short 5ft 1in looks next to other heights.

Many people these days wish that they looked different. [2] So the aim of these comparisons is to make the point that even next to taller people, a 5’1 person can look just fine.

4’11 compared to 5’1

While noticeably smaller, 4’11 compared to 5’1 isn’t that much shorter because the height difference is only 2 inches.

Indeed, with good posture, some generous footwear, and the right angle, it’s possible that 4’11 next to 5’1 could actually look equal. Of course, in terms of barefoot height, the five foot one person will always look taller.

5’1 compared to 6’0

The 5’1 and 6’0 height difference is a whopping 11 inches, meaning that a 5’1 girl next to a 6’0 guy would look very small indeed, especially given that the man is pretty tall.

Now, such a height difference isn’t that uncommon. After all, there are quite a few 5’1 girls and 6’0 guys around, some of whom will naturally end up together.

5’1 next to 6’1

5’1 next to 6’1 will look even shorter than it already is because of the sizable one foot height difference. Of course, a 6’1 guy and a 5’1 girl can still look great together, and you could argue that a bigger height gap can help to balance out the two heights.

5’1 next to 6’2

5’1 next to 6’2 looks tiny; there’s no denying that. If you’ve ever seen a 6’2 guy next to a 5’1 girl, you’ll have noticed that the 5’1 girl looks even shorter than she already is.

Whether or not this is a good thing depends on your point of view. Some people prefer a big height gap between themselves and their partner, whereas others want a smaller height difference.

Who are some celebrities that are 5’1?

Some famous celebrities that are 5’1 include Lady Gaga, Carrie Fisher, Kourtney Kardashian, Kristen Bell, and Anna Kendrick.

The verdict: Is 5 foot 1 a good height?

A woman holding a measuring tape

Ultimately, whether a given height is good or not comes down to how you feel about it. So if you like being 5 foot 1, then that’s great! Keep making the most of your fantastic height.

If you don’t like being 5’1″, on the other hand, then remember that there are plenty of other people just like you. 

Sure, you’re statistically shorter than average, but raw statistics can often make you feel short than you actually are. 

The reality is that if you go out into any town or city, you’ll see plenty of 5’1 women.

References

  1. Stulp, G., Buunk, A. P., Pollet, T. V., Nettle, D., & Verhulst, S. (2013). Are human mating preferences with respect to height reflected in actual pairings?. PloS one8(1), e54186. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054186
  2. Hargreaves, D. A., & Tiggemann, M. (2004). Idealized media images and adolescent body image: “comparing” boys and girls. Body image1(4), 351–361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2004.10.002