noun
Traditional Japanese unit of length, still used in contexts like carpentry, kimono tailoring, and traditional measurements.
この柱の長さは六尺三寸です。
The length of this pillar is 6 shaku 3 sun.
布の長さを測るために尺を当てた。
I placed a ruler against the cloth to measure its length.
この板は尺が足りないので、別のを探そう。
This board isn't long enough, so let's look for another one.
The modern metric unit; 尺 is a traditional unit still used in specific domains.
The kanji 尺 originally depicted a hand span, representing a unit of length. The reading しゃく is the Sino-Japanese on'yomi.