Physics:Taiwanese units of measurement

Short description: System of measurement used in Taiwan

Taiwanese units of measurement (simplified Chinese: 台制; traditional Chinese: 臺制; pinyin: Táizhì; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-chè; Hakka: Thòi-chṳ) are the customary and traditional units of measure used in Taiwan. The Taiwanese units formed in the 1900s when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. The system mainly refers to Japanese system. The measurement refers to the traditional size of a Japanese flooring mat called a Tatami mat (made of woven dried grass) which were positioned to completely cover the floor of traditional Japanese homes, therefore it became a convenient measurement tool as mat area was standardised hundreds of years ago. In Taiwan the measurement units are pronounced in Taiwanese Hokkien and Hakka before the World War II and adopted by the Mandarin speaking immigrants from China in 1949. Today, the Taiwanese units are used exclusively, in some cases alongside official SI units, and in other cases they have been replaced by SI.

Although the Taiwanese units have similar names to those in Chinese units of measurement and Hong Kong units of measurement, the standards are different from those used in China and Hong Kong due to them being Japanese in origin.

Length

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

Table of Lengths

Unit				Taiwanese feet	Metric		US & Imperial		Notes
Taiwanese Hokkien	Hakka	Mandarin	Character		Exact	Approx.	Exact	Approx.
Hun	Fûn	Fēn	分	​1⁄100	1/330 m	3.030 mm	125/37,719 yd	0.1193 in	Same as Japanese Bu
Chhùn	Chhun	Cùn	寸	​1⁄10	1/33 m	3.030 cm	1250/37,719 yd	1.193 in	Taiwanese inch; Same as Japanese Sun
Chhioh	Chhak	Chǐ	尺	1	10/33 m	30.30 cm	12,500/37,719 yd	11.93 in	Taiwanese foot; Same as Japanese Shaku
Tn̄g	Chhong	Zhàng	丈	10	100/33 m	3.030 m	125,000/37,719 yd	9 ft 11.3 in	Taiwanese fathom; Same as Japanese Jō

Taiwanese length units and the translation of length units in metric system (SI) shares the same character. The adjective Taiwanese (台) can be added to address the Taiwanese unis system. For example, 台尺 means Taiwanese foot and 公尺 means meter.

Area

An advertisement from IKEA for a 10-pêⁿ apartment

Unlike with other measures, area continues to be almost commonly measured with traditional units. Taiwanese units of area are derived from both traditional Dutch and Japanese measurements. The principal unit for measuring the floor space of an office or apartment is 坪 (Taiwanese Hokkien: pêⁿ, Hakka: phiàng, Mandarin: píng). The unit is derives from the Japanese tsubo, the base unit of the Japanese area. The principal unit of land measure is 甲 (Taiwanese Hokkien: kah, Hakka: kap, Mandarin: jiǎ). The unit is derived from the obsolete Dutch morgen, which was introduced during Taiwan's Dutch era. In the later era Kingdom of Tungning, 犁 (Taiwanese Hokkien: lê, Hakka: lài, Mandarin: lí) is defined to represent the area that could be farmed by one man with one ox and one plow in one day. Today, the rule for converting the two major units from two different sources is

1 甲 (Taiwanese Hokkien: kah, Hakka: kap, Mandarin: jiǎ, Dutch morgen) = 2,934 坪 (Taiwanese Hokkien: pêⁿ, Hakka: phiàng, Mandarin: píng, Japanese tsubo)

Table of area units

Unit				Pêⁿ	Kah	Metric		US & Imperial		Notes
Taiwanese Hokkien	Hakka	Mandarin	Character			Exact	Approx.	Exact	Approx.
Pêⁿ	Phiàng	Píng	坪	1		400/121 m2	3.306 m2	625,000,000/158,080,329 sq yd	35.58 sq ft	Same as Japanese Tsubo
Bó͘	Méu	Mǔ	畝	30		12,000/121 m2	99.17 m2	6,250,000,000/52,693,443 sq yd	1,067 sq ft	Same as Japanese Se
Hun	Fûn	Fēn	分	293.4	​1⁄10	117360/121 m2	969.92 m2	—	10,440 sq ft
Kah	Kap	Jiǎ	甲	2,934	1	1173600/121 m2	0.9699 ha	—	2.3967 acres	Derived from Dutch Morgen
Lê	Lài	Lí	犁	14,670	5	5868000/121 m2	4.8496 ha	—	11.984 acres	Used from Kingdom of Tungning

Officially, land area is measured in square metres.

Volume

Volume measure in Taiwan is largely metric, with common units such as liter and milliliter.

Mass

Fruit sold in catties in a Taiwanese market

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. Imported goods from the US also retains its weight in ounces, although most such packages also lists the weight in grams.

Table of units of mass

Unit				Niú	Metric		US & Imperial		Notes
Taiwanese Hokkien	Hakka	Mandarin	Character		Legal	Decimal	Exact	Approx.
Lî	Lî	Lí	釐	​1⁄1000	3/80,000 kg	37.5 mg	3750/45,359,237 lb	0.5787 gr	Cash; Same as Japanese Rin
Hun	Fûn	Fēn	分	​1⁄100	3/8000 kg	375 mg	37,500/45,359,237 lb	5.787 gr	Candareen; Same as Japanese Fun
Chîⁿ	Chhièn	Qián	錢	​1⁄10	3/800 kg	3.75 g	375,000/45,359,237 lb	2.116 dr	Mace; Same as Japanese Momme (匁)
Niú	Liông	Liǎng	兩	1	3/80 kg	37.5 g	3,750,000/45,359,237 lb	21.16 dr	Tael
Kin/Kun	Kîn	Jīn	斤	16	3/5 kg	600 g	60,000,000/45,359,237 lb	1.323 lb	Catty; Same as Japanese Kin
Tàⁿ	Tâm	Dàn	擔	1600	60 kg		6,000,000,000/45,359,237 lb	132.3 lb	Picul; Same as Japanese Tan

Note the tael and catty are widely used.

See also

• Units, Systems, & History of measurement
• Chinese & Hong Kong units of measurement
• Japanese, Korean, Mongolian & Vietnamese units of measurement

References

• "Cite web}}" (in zh). Ministry of Education, R.O.C.. 2011. http://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/. 
• 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. http://www.gutenberg-e.org/andrade/appA.html. 

External links

• Weights and Measures in Use in Taiwan