Taiwanese units of measurement
Chinese in Taiwan (a province of republic of China) units of measurement (Chinese: 台制; pinyin: Táizhì; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-chè) 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 classifiers used to classify nouns.
Length
Linear measure in Taiwan is largely metric but some units derived from traditional Japanese units of measurement remain in use.
| Unit | POJ | Han | in metric units | Basis | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Tai. inch | chhùn | 寸 | ≡ | 3.030 | cm | Jp. |
| 1 Tai. foot | chhioh | 尺 | ≡ | 30.30 | cm | Jp. |
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 morgen which was introduced in Taiwan's era of Dutch colonization; or from the Dutch word for "field", akker. The lê represented the area that could be farmed by one man with one ox and one plow in one day. The principal unit for measuring the floorspace of an office or apartment, the phêng (ping) derives from the Japanese tsubo, and is the size of two sleeping (tatami) mats.
- 1 phêng (Chinese: 坪; pinyin: píng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: phêng) = 3.306 square meters
- 1 bó· (Chinese: 畝; pinyin: mǔ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bó͘) = 30 phêng = 99.2 square meters
- 1 kah (Chinese: 甲; pinyin: jiǎ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kah) = 2934 phêng = 9699 square meters
- 1 lê (Chinese: 犁; pinyin: lí; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lê) = 5 kah = 14670 phêng = 48496 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 mass, which are similar but not equivalent to corresponding Chinese units of mass.
- 1 cash (Chinese: 釐; pinyin: lí)= 37.5 mg
- 1 candareen (Chinese: 分; pinyin: fēn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hun)= 10 cash = 375 mg
- 1 mace (Chinese: 錢; pinyin: qián; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chîⁿ)= 10 candareens = 3.75 g
- 1 tael (Chinese: 兩; pinyin: liǎng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: niú)= 10 mace = 37.5 g
- 1 catty (Chinese: 斤; pinyin: jīn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kin or kun)= 16 taels = 600 g
- 1 picul (Chinese: 擔; pinyin: dàn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tàⁿ)= 100 catties = 60 kg
Note the tael and catty are widely used.
See also
References
- 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Taiwanese Hokkien Dictionary of Common Words] (in Chinese). Ministry of Education, R.O.C. 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
- Andrade, Tonio (2005). "Appendix A: Weights, Measures, and Exchange Rates". How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century. Columbia University Press.
External links
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