Catty

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Catty is the English word for a traditional Chinese unit of mass called a jīn (Chinese characters: 斤) in Mandarin Chinese (or kan in Cantonese, kin or kun in Minnan and kin in Japanese) used across East Asia, commonly found in wet markets and in supermarkets. The English word catty originated from Malay word kati.

The catty is traditionally equivalent to around 1⅓ pounds avoirdupois, formalised as 604.78982 grammes in Hong Kong[1], 604.79 grammes in Malaysia [2] and 604.8 grammes in Singapore [3]. In some countries, the weight has been rounded to 600 grammes (Taiwan and Thailand), whereas in mainland China it has been rounded to 500 grammes.

[edit] Related weights

A picul (Malay: pikul, Chinese: 擔 (Mandarin: dàn, Cantonese: tam)) is equal to 100 catties.

A tael (Malay: tahil, Chinese: 両 (Mandarin: liăng, Cantonese leung, Minnan niu or nio•)) is the English term for 1/16 of a catty.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Weights and Measures Ordinance. The Law of Hong Kong.
  2. ^ Weights and Measures Act 1972.
  3. ^ Weights and Measures Act.

[edit] See also

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