About This Fahrenheit to Celsius Converter
Fahrenheit (°F) and Celsius (°C) are the two temperature scales people encounter most in everyday life. Celsius is the global standard — used for weather forecasts, medical measurements, and cooking in nearly every country. Fahrenheit is used primarily in the United States for weather and cooking. Unlike length or weight conversions, temperature scales require an offset formula because their zero points differ: 0 °C (water freezes) corresponds to 32 °F, not 0 °F.
This converter also includes Kelvin (K), the SI absolute temperature unit used in physics and chemistry, and Rankine (°R), an absolute Fahrenheit-based scale used in some US engineering applications. Travelers checking weather in an unfamiliar country, home bakers converting oven temperatures from US to European recipes, meteorologists comparing data, and chemistry students working with absolute temperatures all need these conversions regularly.
How to Use This Converter
- Enter your temperature value in the Value field.
- Select the temperature scale you are converting from (e.g., Fahrenheit) in the From selector.
- Select the scale you want in the To selector (e.g., Celsius).
- The result and formula appear instantly below the inputs.
- Use Swap to reverse the direction in one click, or Reset to start fresh.
Units Covered
| Scale | Symbol | Common Use |
|---|---|---|
| Fahrenheit | °F | Weather, cooking, and body temperature in the United States |
| Celsius | °C | Global standard for weather, medicine, and cooking |
| Kelvin | K | Physics, chemistry, and astronomy — absolute temperature |
| Rankine | °R | Thermodynamic engineering in US aerospace and HVAC |
Fahrenheit to Celsius Conversion Table
| Fahrenheit [°F] | Celsius [°C] |
|---|---|
| −40 °F | −40 °C |
| 32 °F | 0 °C |
| 50 °F | 10 °C |
| 68 °F | 20 °C |
| 77 °F | 25 °C |
| 86 °F | 30 °C |
| 98.6 °F | 37 °C |
| 104 °F | 40 °C |
| 176 °F | 80 °C |
| 212 °F | 100 °C |
How to Convert Fahrenheit to Celsius
To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, subtract 32 then multiply by 5/9:
Example: Convert 72 °F to Celsius:
To convert Celsius back to Fahrenheit, multiply by 9/5 then add 32:
Example: Convert 180 °C (fan oven) to Fahrenheit:
When You Need to Convert Fahrenheit to Celsius
Weather is the most common trigger. An American traveling to Europe sees 28 °C on a forecast and needs to know if that is hot (it is — about 82 °F). A European visitor to the US sees 95 °F and wants to know whether to bring a coat (no — 35 °C is very hot). Weather apps switching between US and international settings create this need constantly.
Baking is another major use case. American recipe books specify oven temperatures in Fahrenheit — 350 °F for cakes, 425 °F for bread. European recipes use Celsius — 175 °C and 220 °C for the same settings. A baker using a European oven with a US recipe needs to convert accurately: 350 °F is 176.7 °C, usually rounded to 175 °C or 180 °C depending on the oven.
Medical temperatures also cross borders. A US fever threshold of 100.4 °F is 38 °C — the standard clinical fever point used globally. A parent checking a child's temperature on a Celsius thermometer and comparing it to US guidance, or vice versa, needs an exact conversion — a 0.5 °C error at that range can change a clinical decision.