Taiwanese units of measurement
- Taiwanese units of measurement
Taiwanese units of measurement (zh-tp|t=台制|p=Táizhì; Minnan: "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 or English 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.
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) (zh-tp|t=尺|p=chǐ; Minnan: "chhioh") = 10 "chhùn" (inches) (zh-tp|t=寸|p=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 "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. 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" (zh-tp|t=甲|p=jiǎ; Minnan: kah) = 5 "lê" = 2934 "phêng" = 0.97 hectares
*1 "lê" (zh-tp|p=lí|t=犁; Minnan: lê) = 587 "phêng" = 0.194 hectares
*1 "bó·" (zh-tp|t=畝|p=mǔ; Minnan: bó͘) = 30 "phêng" = 99.3 square meters
*1 "phêng" (zh-tp|t=坪|p=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 (zh-tp|t=斤|p=jīn; Minnan: "kin" or "kun") = 16 taels (zh-tp|t=兩|p=liǎng; Minnan: "niú") = 160 mace (zh-tp|t=錢|p=qián; Minnan: "chîⁿ") = 1600 candareens (zh-tp|t=分|p=fēn; Minnan: "hun") = 16,000 cash (zh-tp|t=文|p=wén; Minnan: "bûn")
*100 catties = 1 picul (zh-tp|t=擔|p=dàn; Minnan: "tàⁿ")
*(1 catty = 600 grams)
*(1 tael = 37.5 grams)
ee also
*Japanese units of measurement
*Chinese units of measurement
External links
* [http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/2-visitor/directory/weights.htm Weights and Measures in Use in Taiwan]
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Units of measurement — Weights and measures redirects here. For other uses, see Weights and measures (disambiguation). The former Weights and Measures office in Seven Sisters, London A unit of measurement is a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and… … Wikipedia
Chinese units of measurement — A Traditional Chinese scale Chinese units of measurement (Chinese: 市制; pinyin: Shìzhì; literally market system ) are the customary and traditional units of measure used in China. In the People s Republic of China, the units were re standardised… … Wikipedia
Japanese units of measurement — nihongo| Shakkan hō |尺貫法| is the traditional Japanese system of measurement. The name shakkanhō originates from the name of two of the units, the shaku , a unit of length, and the kan , a mass measurement. The system is Chinese in origin. The… … Wikipedia
Dutch units of measurement — Relief on the gable of De Waag at the Markt in Gouda The Dutch units of measurement used today are those of the metric system. Before the 19th century, a wide variety of different weights and measures were used by the various Dutch towns and… … Wikipedia
Hindu units of measurement — Vedic and Puranic units of time span from the Paramáńu (about 17 microseconds) to the mahamanvantara (311.04 trillion years). Hindu theology considers the creation and destruction of the universe a cyclic process. Contents 1 Introduction 2 Time 2 … Wikipedia
List of unusual units of measurement — For units of measure primarily used in countries where English is not the main language, see the article specific to that country, a list of which can be found in the systems of measurement article. An unusual unit of measurement is a unit of… … Wikipedia
Obsolete Polish units of measurement — The traditional Polish units of measurement included two uniform yet distinct systems of weights and measures, as well as a number of related systems borrowed from neighbouring states. The first attempt at standardisation came with the… … Wikipedia
Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement — Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement, such as the Omer, used primarily by ancient Israelites, appear frequently within the Hebrew Bible as well as in later Judaic scripture, such as the Mishnah and Talmud. These units of measurement are… … Wikipedia
Hong Kong units of measurement — is based on the measurement units of Chinese of Qing Empire, British Imperial and metric. Both British Imperial and Chinese units were used until recently. In 1976 Hong Kong started the conversion to the metric system. This has now been almost… … Wikipedia
Obsolete Scottish units of measurement — Scotland had a distinct system of measures and weights until at least the late 18th century, based on the ell as a unit of length, the stone as a unit of mass and the boll and the firlot as units of dry measure. This official system coexisted… … Wikipedia
