5 mm graph paper (squared paper)
5 mm squared paper is the everyday grid of European and Asian school notebooks—German “kariert”, Spanish “cuadriculado”, Japanese 方眼. Each square holds one handwritten character, which makes it ideal for math work.
Print at 100% / Actual size so the squares measure exactly. Printing help
What it looks like up close
Ready-made PDF downloads
Prefer a file you can save and print later? These use the default settings shown above.
How many squares per page
Each square is 0.1969 in (5 mm). With the default margin, a sheet holds:
| Paper | Portrait (across × down) | Landscape (across × down) |
|---|---|---|
| US Letter | 41 × 53 | 53 × 41 |
| A4 | 40 × 57 | 57 × 40 |
| US Legal | 41 × 69 | 69 × 41 |
| Tabloid 11×17 | 53 × 84 | 84 × 53 |
| A3 | 57 × 81 | 81 × 57 |
Example: long multiplication
Each digit gets its own square, so the partial products 282 (47 × 6) and 1410 (47 × 30) line up by place value automatically. Adding them gives 1692. This layout is how written multiplication is taught in much of Europe, and squared paper is what keeps it tidy.
The notebook grid
Most squared exercise books in Europe use 5 mm squares, so worksheets and practice pages printed on this grid match what students already know. Teachers use it for written calculations, geometry constructions and coordinate graphs.
Bullet journal writers and engineers like the same spacing for notes and quick sketches. An A4 page holds 40 × 57 squares with 5 mm margins.
Bold lines or plain
Classic notebook paper has no bold lines. If you plot graphs, set the bold interval to 2 for a heavier line every centimeter, or to 5 for every 2.5 cm. The PDF stays sharp at any zoom because the lines are vectors, not an image.
For a lighter page try 5 mm dot grid; for larger squares see 1 cm graph paper.
Math layout on 5 mm squares
Write one digit per square and leave a blank square between columns of a calculation. For written division and long multiplication, the grid keeps place values aligned, which is why many European teachers insist on squared paper until the end of primary school.
Geometry works well too: a right triangle with legs of 6 and 8 squares has a hypotenuse of exactly 10 squares (5 cm), a quick way to check that a printed page is to scale.
Other names for 5 mm squared paper
In the UK it is “5 mm squared paper”, in Germany “Karopapier” or “kariert”, in France “petits carreaux”, in Spain “cuadriculado 5 mm”, and in Japan “5 mm 方眼”. All describe the same grid, so this PDF works wherever a worksheet asks for one of them.
How to set up a page for math work
- Leave the first two rows for the date and the exercise number.
- Write one digit or symbol per square.
- Leave one empty square between separate calculations.
- Rule answer lines along grid lines with a ruler.
- Draw a margin line two or three squares from the edge for teacher marks.
5 mm grid for sketching and notes
Five-millimetre squares work as an invisible ruler for diagrams, tables and handwriting. Engineers and designers fill notebooks with this grid because a box of 4 × 4 squares is exactly 2 cm, so sketches have a built-in scale.
Compare with nearby sizes
Squares per page with 1/4 inch margins, portrait. All sizes are compared on the home page.
| Grid | Square (in) | Square (mm) | US Letter | A4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 per inch | 0.1 | 2.54 | 80 × 105 | 77 × 111 |
| 1/8 inch | 0.125 | 3.18 | 64 × 84 | 62 × 89 |
| 5 mm | 0.197 | 5 | 40 × 53 | 39 × 56 |
| 5 per inch | 0.2 | 5.08 | 40 × 52 | 38 × 55 |
| 1/4 inch | 0.25 | 6.35 | 32 × 42 | 31 × 44 |
Questions
How many 5 mm squares fit on an A4 page?
40 × 57 squares with 5 mm margins.
Is 5 mm the same as 1/5 inch?
Almost. 1/5 inch is 5.08 mm; over a full page the two grids differ by a few millimetres.
Can I print 5 mm graph paper on Letter paper?
Yes—choose US Letter; squares remain exactly 5 mm.
How many lines are on 5 mm squared A4?
With 5 mm margins the grid has 41 vertical and 58 horizontal lines (40 × 57 squares).
Can I print it double-sided?
Yes—set “Pages in PDF” to the number of sheets and print double-sided; every page is identical.