Taiwanese units of measurement

Taiwanese units of measurement (Chinese: 台制; pinyin: Táizhì; Minnan: Tâichoè) are the customary and traditional units of measure used in Taiwan. Many of the units derive from Japanese units of measurement and have similar names as Chinese units of measurement but different conversions than in China or Hong Kong. In some cases these units are used exclusively, in some cases alongside official metric (SI) units, and in other cases they have been supplanted by metric units. Linguistically, practically all Taiwanese units of measure are Chinese measure words used to classify nouns.

Fruits sold in catties (斤) in a Taiwanese market

Length

Linear measure in Taiwan is largely metric but some units derived from traditional Japanese units of measurement remain in use.

• 1 chhioh (shaku, foot) (Chinese: 尺; pinyin: chǐ; Minnan: chhioh) = 10 chhùn (inches) (Chinese: 寸; pinyin: cùn; Minnan: chhùn)

• (1 chhioh [shaku] = 0.3030 meters)

Area

Unlike with other measures, area continues to be almost exclusively measured with traditional rather than SI units. Taiwanese units of land measurement derive from both traditional Dutch and Japanese measurements. The principal unit of land measure, the kah, derives from the obsolete Dutch unit akker, which was introduced in Taiwan's era of Dutch colonization. The lê represented the area that could be farmed by one man with one head of oxen and one plow. The principal unit for measuring the floorspace of an office or apartment, the phêng (ping), like the Korean pyeong, derives from the Japanese tsubo, and is the size of one sleeping (tatami) mat.

• 1 kah (Chinese: 甲; pinyin: jiǎ; Minnan: kah) = 5 lê = 2934 phêng = 0.97 hectares
• 1 lê (Chinese: 犁; pinyin: lí; Minnan: lê) = 587 phêng = 0.194 hectares
• 1 bó· (Chinese: 畝; pinyin: mǔ; Minnan: bó·) = 30 phêng = 99.3 square meters
• 1 phêng (Chinese: 坪; pinyin: píng; Minnan: phêng) = 3.306 square meters

Volume

Volume measure in Taiwan is largely metric.

Mass

Packaged goods in Taiwan largely use metric measurements but bulk foodstuffs sold in wet markets and supermarkets are typically measured with units derived from traditional Japanese units of measurement.

• 1 catty (Chinese: 斤; pinyin: jīn; Minnan: kin or kun) = 16 taels (Chinese: 兩; pinyin: liǎng; Minnan: niú) = 160 mace (Chinese: 錢; pinyin: qián; Minnan: chîⁿ) = 1600 candareens (Chinese: 分; pinyin: fēn; Minnan: hun) = 16,000 cash (Chinese: 文; pinyin: wén; Minnan: bûn)
• 100 catties = 1 picul (Chinese: 擔; pinyin: dàn; Minnan: tàⁿ)

• (1 catty = 600 grams)
• (1 tael = 37.5 grams)

See also

• Japanese units of measurement
• Chinese units of measurement

External links

• Weights and Measures in Use in Taiwan