The square meter (m²) is the SI base unit of area, equal to a square measuring one meter on each side, used worldwide for real estate, construction, and land surveying. Apartment sizes, office floor plans, and construction costs are almost universally quoted in square meters outside the United States. One square meter equals approximately 10.764 square feet.

The mu (亩) is a traditional Chinese unit of area equal to approximately 666.67 square meters, used extensively in Chinese agriculture, rural land contracts, and property records. Farmland in China is almost always measured in mu, and government policies regarding grain production quotas reference this unit. One mu equals roughly 0.1647 acres or about 7,176 square feet.