Chinese units of measurement (Chinese: 市制; pinyin: shìzhì; literally: "market

system") are the customary and traditionalunits of measure used in China. In

the People's Republic of China, the units were re-standardised during the late 20th
century to make them approximate SI (metric) units. Many of the units were formerly
based on the number 16 instead of 10. In Hong Kong, the British Imperial system was
used together with Hong Kong units of measurement, which were traditional Chinese
weights and measures, and now traditional Chinese units and Imperial units are used
alongside the metric system, which was introduced by legislation in 1976 as the official
standard system of weights and measures. Taiwanese units of measurement, which
appeared under the colonial influences of the Dutch and the Japanese, for the most part
may have similar names but are different from the Chinese units of measurement.
Taiwan is now fully metricated.

The Chinese name for most SI units is based on that of the closest traditional unit. When
it is necessary to emphasize which system is used, the words "market" (市 shì) for
traditional units or "common/standard" (公 gōng) for SI units may be added in front of the
name. SI is the official system of units, but traditional units are still ubiquitously used in
everyday life.

Note: The names lí (厘) and fēn (分) for small units are the same for length, area, and
mass; however, they refer to different kinds of measurements.

Contents
[hide]

 1 History
o 1.1 Republican Era
o 1.2 People's Republic of China
o 1.3 Hong Kong
o 1.4 Macau
 2 Ancient Chinese units
o 2.1 Length
 3 Modern Chinese units
o 3.1 Length
 3.1.1 Chinese length units promulgated in 1915
 3.1.2 Chinese length units effective in 1930
 3.1.3 Metric length units
 3.1.4 Hong Kong and Macau length units
o 3.2 Area
 3.2.1 Chinese area units promulgated in 1915
 3.2.2 Chinese area units effective in 1930
 3.2.3 Metric and other area units
 3.2.4 Macau area units
o 3.3 Volume
  3.3.1 Chinese volume units promulgated in 1915
 3.3.2 Chinese volume units effective in 1930
 3.3.3 Metric volume units
 3.3.4 Macau volume units
o 3.4 Mass
 3.4.1 Chinese mass units promulgated in 1915
 3.4.2 Mass units in the Republic of China since 1930
 3.4.3 Mass units in the People's Republic of China since 1959
 3.4.4 Metric mass units
 3.4.5 Hong Kong and Macau mass units
 3.4.6 Hong Kong Troy units
o 3.5 Time
 4 Historiography
 5 See also
 6 Footnotes
 7 References

History[edit]
Bronze ruler from the Han Dynasty (206 BCE to CE 220); excavated inZichang County; Shaanxi
History Museum, Xi'an

History of science and

technology in China

 Inventions
 Discoveries

By era

 Han dynasty
 Tang dynasty
 Song dynasty
 People's Republic of China (PRC)

 v
 t
 e
According to the Liji, the legendary Yellow Emperor created the first measurement units.
The Xiao Erya and the Kongzi Jiayu state that length units were derived from the human
body. According to the Records of the Grand Historian, these human body units caused
inconsistency, and Yu the Great, another legendary figure, unified the length
measurements. Rulers with decimal units have been unearthed from Shang
Dynasty tombs.

In the Zhou Dynasty, the king conferred nobles with powers of the state and the
measurement units began to be inconsistent from state to state. After the Warring States
period, Qin Shi Huang unified China, and later standardized measurement units. In
the Han Dynasty, these measurements were still being used, and were documented
systematically in the Book of Han.

Astronomical instruments show little change of the length of chi in the following
centuries, since the calendar needed to be consistent. It was not until the introduction of
decimal units in the Ming Dynasty that the traditional system was revised.
Republican Era[edit]
On 7 January 1915, the Beiyang Government promulgated a measurement law to use
not only metric system as the standard but also a set of Chinese-style measurement.
[1]
On 16 February 1929, the Nationalist Government adopted and promulgated The
Weights and Measures Act[2] to adopt the metric system as the official standard and to
limit the newer Chinese units of measurement (Chinese: 市用制; pinyin:shìyòngzhì;
literally: "market-use system") to private sales and trade in Article 11, effective on 1
January 1930.[3]
People's Republic of China[edit]
The Government of the People's Republic of China continued using the market system
along with metric system, as decreed by the State Council of the People's Republic of
China on 25 June 1959, but 1 catty being 500 grams, would become divided into 10
(new) taels, instead of 16 (old) taels, to be converted from province to province, while
exempting Chinese prescription drugs from the conversion to prevent errors.[4]

On 27 February 1984, the State Council of the People's Republic of China decreed the
market system to remain acceptable till the end of 1990 and ordered the transition to the
national legal measures by that time, but farmland measures would be exempt from this
mandatorymetrication until further investigation and study.[5]
Hong Kong[edit]
In 1976 the Hong Kong Metrication Ordinance allowed a gradual replacement of the
system in favor of the International System of Units (SI) metric system.[6] The Weights
and Measures Ordinance defines the metric, Imperial, and Chinese units.[7] As of 2012,
all three systems are legal for trade and are in widespread use.
Macau[edit]
On 24 August 1992, Macau published Law No. 14/92/M to order that Chinese units of
measurement similar to those used in Hong Kong, Imperial units, and United States
customary units would be permissible for five years since the effective date of the Law, 1
January 1993, on the condition of indicating the corresponding SI values, then for three
more years thereafter, Chinese, Imperial, and US units would be permissible as
secondary to the SI.[8]

Ancient Chinese units[edit]

Length[edit]

Gilded Bronze Ruler - 1 chi = 231 mm. Western Han (206 BCE - CE 8).Hanzhong City

Traditional units of length include the chi (尺), bu (步), and li (里). The precise length of
these units, and the ratios between these units, has varied over time. 1 bu has consisted
of either 5 or 6 chi, while 1 li has consisted of 300 or 360 bu.

Length in metre[9]

bu li

dynasty chi
=6
= 5 chi = 300 bu = 360 bu
chi

Shang 0.1675 1.0050 301.50

0.1690 1.0140 304.20

Zhou 0.1990 1.1940 358.20

Eastern 0.2200 1.3200 396.00
Zhou

0.2270 1.3620 408.60

0.2310 1.3860 415.80

Qin 0.2310 1.3860 415.80[10][11]

Han 0.2310 1.3860 415.80[12] 415.80[10][11]

600 CE 0.2550 1.5300 459.00

Tang 0.2465 1.2325 369.75 443.70

0.2955 1.4775 443.25 531.90

Song 0.2700 1.3500 405.00 486.00

Northern
0.3080 1.5400 462.00 554.40
Song

0.3008– 1.5040– 541.44–

Ming 451.20–478.50
0.3190 1.5950 574.20

0.3080– 1.5400– 554.40–

Qing 462.00–503.89
0.3352 1.6760 603.46

Modern Chinese units[edit]

All "metric values" given in the tables are exact unless otherwise specified by the
approximation sign '~'.

Certain units are also listed at List of Chinese classifiers → Measurement units.
Length[edit]
Chinese length units promulgated in 1915[edit]

Table of Chinese length units promulgated in 1915[1]

Relative Metric Imperial

Pinyin Character Notes
value value value

háo /
毫/秒 1/10 000 32 µm
miǎo

釐 (T) or 厘
lí 1/1000 0.32 mm
(S)

fēn 分 1/100 3.2 mm

cùn 寸 1/10 32 mm Chinese inch

chǐ 尺 1 0.32 m Chinese foot

bù 步 5 1.6 m Chinese pace

zhàng 丈 10 3.2 m

yǐn 仞 100 32 m

lǐ 里 1800 576 m this li is not the small li above,

which has a
 different character and tone

Chinese length units effective in 1930[edit]

Table of Chinese length units effective in 1930[3]

Relative Metric Imperial

Pinyin Character Notes
value value value

háo /
毫/秒 1/10 000 33 ⅓ µm
miǎo

釐 (T) or 厘
lí 1/1000 ⅓ mm
(S)

~0.1312
fēn 市分 1/100 3⅓ mm
in

cùn 市寸 1/10 3 ⅓ cm ~1.312 in Chinese inch

chǐ 市尺 1 33 ⅓ cm ~1.094 ft Chinese foot

zhàng 市丈 10 3 ⅓ m ~3.645 yd

yǐn 仞 100 33 ⅓ m ~36.45 yd

this li is not the small li above,

lǐ 市里 1500 500 m ~546.8 yd which has a
different character and tone

Metric length units[edit]

The Chinese word for metre is 米 mǐ; this can take the Chinese standard SI prefixes (for
"kilo-", "centi-", etc.). A kilometre, however, may also be called 公里 gōnglǐ, i.e. a
metric lǐ.

In the engineering field, traditional units are round up to metric units.For example, the
Chinese word 丝 sī is used to express 0.01mm..

Table of Chinese length units in engineering

Relative Metric Imperial

Pinyin Character Notes
value value value

1/1 000
hū 忽 1µm Authorized Name: 微米
000

sī 丝 1/100 000 10µm Authorized Name: 忽米

háo 毫 1/10 000 100µm Authorized Name: 丝米

釐 (T) or 厘
lí 1/1000 1mm Authorized Name: 毫米
(S)

fēn 公分 1/100 10mm Authorized Name: 厘米

cùn 公寸 1/10 100mm Authorized Name: 分米

chǐ 公尺 1 1m Authorized Name: 米

this li is not the small li above,

lǐ 公里 1000 1000m which has a
different character and tone

Hong Kong and Macau length units[edit]

 Table of Chinese length units in Hong Kong[7] and Macau[8]

Englis Jyutpin Characte Portugues Relativ Metric Imperia

Notes
h g r e e value value l value

3.71475 m ~0.1463
fan fan1 分 Condorim 1/100
m in

~1.463
tsun cyun3 寸 Ponto 1/10 3.71475 cm
in

Hong
Kong
~1.219 f
chek cek3 尺 Côvado 1 37.1475 cm and
t
Maca
u foot

Area[edit]
Chinese area units promulgated in 1915[edit]

Table of Chinese area units promulgated in 1915[1]

Relative Metric Imperial

Pinyin Character Notes
value value value

~0.7348 sq
háo 毫 0.001 0.6144 m²
yd

釐 (T) or 厘
lí 0.01 6.144 m² ~7.348 sq yd
(S)

fēn 分 0.1 61.44 m² ~73.48 sq yd 10 li

 畝 (T) or 亩 ~734.82 sq 10 fen, or 60
mǔ 1 614.4 m²
(S) yd zhang²

頃 (T) or 顷
qǐng 100 61440 m² ~73482 sq yd 100 mǔ
(S)

Table of Chinese square units effective in 1915[1]

Characte
Pinyin Relative value Metric value Imperial value Notes
r

fāng cùn 方寸 1
⁄100 10.24 cm² 100 fen²

fāng chǐ 方尺 1 0.1024 m² 100 cun²

fāng zhang 方丈 100 10.24 m² 100 chi²

Chinese area units effective in 1930[edit]

Table of Chinese area units effective in 1930[3]

Relative Metric
Pinyin Character Imperial value Notes
value value

háo 毫 0.001 2
⁄3 m² ~0.797 sq yd

釐 (T) or 厘
lí 0.01 6 2⁄3 m² ~7.973 sq yds
(S)
 fēn 市分 0.1 66 2⁄3 m² ~79.73 sq yds 10 li

畝 (T) or 亩 ~797.3 sq yds, or 10 fen, or 60

mǔ 1 666 2⁄3 m²
(S) ~0.1647 acre zhang²

頃 (T) or 顷 10 shí or 100

qǐng 100 6 2⁄3 has ~16.47 acres
(S) mǔ

Table of Chinese square units effective in 1930[3]

Relative Metric
Pinyin Character Imperial value Notes
value value

100
fāng cùn 方寸 1
⁄100 11 1⁄9 cm² ~1.722 sq ins
fen²

~172.2 sq ins, or ~1.196 100

fāng chǐ 方尺 1 1
⁄9 m²
sq ft cun²

fāng ~119.6 sq ft, or ~13.29

方丈 100 11 1⁄9 m² 100 chi²
zhang sq yds

Metric and other area units[edit]

Metric and other standard length units can be squared by the addition of the prefix 平
方 píngfāng. For example, a square kilometre is 平方公里 píngfāng gōnglǐ.

Macau area units[edit]

Table of Chinese length units in Macau[8]

Jyutping Character Portuguese Relative Metric Imperial Notes

 value value value

cek3 尺 Côvado 1/6000 0.1269 m²

pou3 鋪 1/240 3.1725 m²

zoeng6 丈 Braça 1/60 12.69 m²

fan1 分 Condorim 1/10 76.14 m²

畝 (T) or 亩
mau5 Maz 1 761.4 m²
(S)

Volume[edit]
These units are used to measure cereal grains, among other things. In imperial times,
the physical standard for these was the jialiang.

Chinese volume units promulgated in 1915[edit]

Table of Chinese volume units effective in 1915[1]

Characte Relative US dry Imperial

Pinyin Metric value Notes
r value value value

10.354688
sháo 勺 1/100
ml

103.54688
gě 合 1/10
ml

shēng 升 1 1.0354688 L
 dǒu 斗 10 10.354688 L

hú 斛 50 51.77344 L

dàn 石 100 103.54688 L

Chinese volume units effective in 1930[edit]

Table of Chinese volume units effective in 1930[3]

Characte Relative Metric

Pinyin US dry value Imperial value Notes
r value value

cuō 撮 1/1000 1 ml

sháo 勺 1/100 10 ml ~0.6102 cu in

gě 合 1/10 100 ml ~0.1816 pints ~6.102 cu in

shēng 市升 1 1L ~1.816 pints ~61.02 cu in

~18.16 pints, or ~610.2 cu in, or

dǒu 市斗 10 10 L
~2.27 gallons ~0.3531 cu ft

dàn 市石 100 100 L ~22.7 gallons ~3.531 cu ft

Metric volume units[edit]

In the case of volume, the market and metric shēng coincide, being equal to one litre as
shown in the table. The Chinese standard SI prefixes (for "milli-", "centi-", etc.) may be
added to this word shēng.
Units of volume can also be obtained from any standard unit of length using the prefix 立
方 lìfāng ("cubic"), as in 立方米 lìfāng mǐ for a cubic metre.

Macau volume units[edit]

Table of Chinese volume units in Macau[8]

Characte Relative Metric Imperial

Jyutping Portuguese Notes
r value value value

cyut3 撮 1 1.031 L

gam1
甘特 10 10.31 L
dak6

sek6 石 100 103.1 L

Mass[edit]
These units are used to measure the mass of objects. They are also famous for
measuring monetary objects such as gold and silver.

Chinese mass units promulgated in 1915[edit]

Table of Chinese mass units promulgated in 1915[1]

Characte Relative Metric Imperial

Pinyin Notes
r value value value

háo 毫 1/10 000 3.7301 mg

lí 釐 1/1 000 37.301 mg cash

fēn 分 1/100 373.01 mg candareen

 qián 錢 1/10 3.7301 g mace

tael or
liǎng 兩 1 37.301 g
Chinese ounce

catty or
jīn 斤 16 596.816 g
Chinese pound

Mass units in the Republic of China since 1930[edit]

Table of mass units in the Republic of China since 1930[3]

Characte Relative Metric Imperial

Pinyin Notes
r value value value

sī 絲 1/1000 000 312.5 µg

háo 毫 1/160 000 3.125 mg

lí 市釐 1/16 000 31.25 mg cash

fēn 市分 1/1600 312.5 mg candareen

qián 市錢 1/160 3.125 g mace

liǎng 市兩 1/16 31.25 g tael or Chinese ounce

jīn 市斤 1 500 g ~1.102 lb catty or Chinese pound

dàn 擔/担 100 50 kg ~110.2 lb picul or

 Chinese hundredweight

Mass units in the People's Republic of China since 1959[edit]

Table of mass units in the People's Republic of China since 1959[4]

Relative Metric Imperial

Pinyin Character[13] Notes
value value value

lí 市厘 1/10 000 50 mg cash

fēn 市分 1/1000 500 mg ~0.2822 dr candareen

qián 市钱 1/100 5g ~2.822 dr mace

liǎng 市两 1/10 50 g ~1.764 oz tael or Chinese ounce

catty or Chinese pound

jīn 市斤 1 500 g ~1.102 lb
formerly 16 liang = 1 jin

picul or
dàn 市担 / 擔 100 50 kg ~110.2 lb
Chinese hundredweight

Metric mass units[edit]

The Chinese word for gram is 克 kè; this can take the Chinese standard SI prefixes (for
"milli-", "deca-", etc.). A kilogram, however, is commonly called 公斤 gōngjīn, i.e. a
metric jīn.

Hong Kong and Macau mass units[edit]

Table of Chinese mass units in Hong Kong[7] and Macau[8]

 Relati
Jyutpi Charac Portugu Metric Imperial
English ve Notes
ng ter ese value value
value

Not
defined in
Hong
Kong.
Macanes
e
1/160 37.79931 m ~0.2133
lei4 厘 Liz definition
0 g dr
may not
be
correct
when
dividing
catty.

Macanes
e
definition
of
377.9931
candareen( Condori 1/160 377.993637 ~0.2133
fan1 分 mg may
fan) m 0 5 mg dr
not be
correct
when
dividing
catty.

mace (tsin) cin4 錢 Maz 1/160 3.77993637 ~2.1333 Macanes

5g dr e
definition
of
3.779931
 g may not
be
correct
when
dividing
catty.

Macanes
e
definition
of
37.79931
37.7993637 ~1.3333
tael (leung) loeng2 兩 Tael 1/16 g may not
5g oz
be
correct
when
dividing
catty.

Hong
Kong and
~1.3333 l
catty (kan) gan1 斤 Cate 1 604.78982 g Macau
b
share the
definition.

Hong
Kong and
60.478982 k ~133.333
picul (tam) daam3 担/擔 Pico 100 Macau
g 3 lb
share the
definition.

Hong Kong Troy units[edit]

These are used for trading precious metals such as gold and silver.
 Table of mass (Hong Kong troy) units[7]

Relative
English Character Metric value Imperial value Notes
value

troy 374.29 ~0.096 troy

金衡分 1/100
candareen milligrams drams

~0.96 troy
troy mace 金衡錢 1/10 3.7429 grams
drams

troy tael 金衡兩 1 37.429 grams ~1.2 troy ounces

Time[edit]
See also: Chinese calendar and Dates in Chinese

Table of time units

Relative value Western value

Charact
Pinyin traditio moder Notes
er tradition modern
n n
value value
value value

miǎo / h 144 microseco

秒/毫 1 second
ǎo nd

100 hǎ 60 miǎ
fēn 分 14.4 seconds 1 minute
o o

kè 刻 1 minor 15 fēn 2.4 minutes 15 minut kè is redefined

 kè=10 to 1/96, 1/108,
fēn or 1/120 day during
the Liang
es Dynasty, and
1 major established
kè=60 14.4 minutes to 1/96 day
fēn after Qing dynasty.

diǎn 点 100 fēn 60 fēn 24 minutes 1 hour

8⅓ kè 2 hours the xiǎoshí(小

時/小时) is used to
時 (T) express "hour"
shí [14] (pre- 4 kè 1 hour
时 (S) currently,
Qin) 10 2.4 hours in order to avoid
kè the ambiguity

rì / tiān 日/天 12 shí 24 shí 24 hours

Historiography[edit]
As there were hundreds of unofficial measures in use, the bibliography is quite vast. Up
to the 1980s or so, the book by Wu Chenglou (吳承洛), Zhongguo dulianghengshi (中國
度量衡史), first printed in 1937 and republished/revised a few times since (1957, 1993),
was often used as reference. It relies however mostly on literary accounts. Newer
research has put more emphasis on archeological discoveries.[15] From this latter body of
work, an abridged Chinese-English overview book appeared in 2005.[16] Alas, no
comprehensive text appears to exist in English. A relatively recent and comprehensive
bibliography, organized by period studied, has been compiled in 2012 by Cao, Theobald,
Vogel, et al.;[17] for a shorter list see Wilkinson's Chinese history: a manual (2000).[15]

Chinese numerals are words and characters used to denote numbers in Chinese.
 Today speakers of Chinese use three written numeral systems: the system of Arabic
numerals used world-wide, and two indigenous systems. The more familiar indigenous
system is based on Chinese characters that correspond to numerals in the spoken
language. These are shared with other languages of the Chinese cultural sphere such
as Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese. Most people and institutions in China primarily
use the Arabic system for convenience, with traditional Chinese numerals used in
finance, mainly for writing amounts on checks, banknotes, some ceremonial occasions,
some boxes, and on commercials.[citation needed]

The other indigenous system is the Suzhou numerals, or huama, a positional system,
the only surviving form of the rod numerals. These were once used by Chinese
mathematicians, and later in Chinese markets, such as those in Hong Kong before the
1990s, but have been gradually supplanted by Arabic (and also Roman) numerals.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Written numbers
o 1.1 Characters used to represent numbers
 1.1.1 Standard numbers
 1.1.2 Characters with regional usage
 1.1.3 Characters with military usage
 1.1.4 Large numbers
 1.1.5 Numbers from Buddhism
 1.1.6 Small numbers
 1.1.7 SI prefixes
o 1.2 Reading and transcribing numbers
 1.2.1 Whole numbers
 1.2.2 Fractional values
 1.2.3 Ordinal numbers
 1.2.4 Negative numbers
 1.2.5 Usage
 2 Counting rod and Suzhou numerals
 3 Hand gestures
 4 Historical use of numerals in China
 5 Cultural influences
 6 See also
 7 References
 8 External links

Written numbers[edit]
Chinese and Arabic numerals may coexist, as on this kilometer marker: 1620 km on Hwy G209 (G 二
〇九)

The Chinese character numeral system consists of the Chinese characters used by
the Chinese written language to write spoken numerals. Similar to spelling-out numbers
in English (e.g., "one thousand nine hundred forty-five"), it is not an independent
system per se. Since it reflects spoken language, it does not use the positional system
as in Arabic numerals, in the same way that spelling out numbers in English does not.
Characters used to represent numbers[edit]
Standard numbers[edit]

There are characters representing the numbers zero through nine, and other characters
representing larger numbers such as tens, hundreds, thousands and so on. There are
two sets of characters for Chinese numerals: one for everyday writing and one for use in
commercial or financial contexts known as dàxiě (simplified Chinese: 大写; traditional
Chinese: 大寫; literally: "big writing"). The latter arose because the characters used for
writing numerals are geometrically simple, so simply using those numerals cannot
prevent forgeries in the same way spelling numbers out in English would.[1] A forger
could easily change the everyday characters 三十 (30) to 五千 (5000) just by adding a
few strokes. That would not be possible when writing using the financial characters 參拾
(30) and 伍仟 (5000). They are also referred to as "banker's numerals", "anti-fraud
numerals", or "banker's anti-fraud numerals". For the same reason, rod numerals were
never used in commercial records.

T denotes Traditional Chinese characters, S denotes Simplified Chinese characters.

Financial Normal
Jyutpin Pe̍ h-
Pīnyīn
Val g ōe-jī
Chara Chara Chara Chara (Manda Notes
ue (Canton (Hokki
cter cter cter cter rin)
ese) en)
(T) (S) (T) (S)
 Usually 零 is
preferred, but
in some areas,
〇 may be a
more common
informal way to
represent zero.
The traditional
零 is more
often used in
schools. 〇 is
not a standard
Chinese
零 零/〇 0 líng ling4 lîng character,
because
Chinese
characters
never contain
ovals or circles.
In Unicode, 〇
is treated as
aChinese
symbol or
punctuation,
rather than
a Chinese
ideograph.

Also 弌 (obsole
te financial),
can be easily
壹 一 1 yī jat1 it/chit
manipulated
into 弍 (two) or
弎 (three).
 Also 弍 (obsole
te financial),
can be easily
manipulated
into 弌 (one) or
貳 贰 二 2 èr ji
6
jī/nn̄ g 弎 (three).
Also 兩 (T)
or 两 (S),
see Characters
with regional
usage section.

Also 弎 (obsole
te financial),
can be easily
manipulated
into 弌 (one) or
sam/
參 叁 三 3 sān saam 1
弍 (two).
saⁿ
Also 參 (T)
or 参 (S)
sān. Vulgar
variants include
叄, 叁.

Also 䦉 (obsole
肆 四 4 sì sei3 sù/sì
te financial)[2]

ngō/
伍 五 5 wǔ ng5
gōo

陸 陆 六 6 liù luk6 lio̍ k/la̍ k

柒 七 7 qī cat1 chhit
 pat/
捌 八 8 bā baat3
peh

kiú/
玖 九 9 jiǔ gau2
káu

Although some
people
use 什 as
financial[citation
si̍ p/ needed]
, it is not
拾 十 10 shí sap6
tsa̍ p ideal because it
can be easily
manipulated
into 伍 (five) or
仟 (thousand).

佰 百 100 bǎi baak3 pah

1,0
仟 千 qiān cin1 chhian
00

Chinese
numbers group
by ten-
thousands;
萬 萬 万 104 wàn maan6 bān see Reading
and
transcribing
numbers below
.

億 億 亿 108 yì jik1 ik For variant

 meanings and
words for
higher values,
see Large
numbersbelow
and ja:大字 (数
字).

Characters with regional usage[edit]

Norma Pinyin Standard

Financial Value Notes
l (Mandarin) alternative

Literally means "the smallest". It

is used in Mandarin to
unambiguously pronounce "#1"
in a series of one (一) such as
phone numbers and ID
numbers, because reading
them together in a row is not
distinguishable (e.g. 一一一
幺 1 yāo 一 would be pronounced as "yao-
yao-yao" instead of sounding
like "YEEEEEE"). In Taiwan, it
is only used by soldiers, police,
andemergency services. This
usage is not observed in
Cantonese except for 十三幺 (a
special winning hand)
in Mahjong.

兩(T) 2 liǎng 二 A very common alternative way

or of saying "two". Its usage varies
两(S) from dialect to dialect, even
person to person. For example,
 "2222" can read as "二千二百二
十二", "兩千二百二十二" or even
"兩千兩百二十二" in Mandarin.
See Reading and transcribing
numbers section below.

In regional dialects
of Northeastern Mandarin, 仨
represents a "lazy"
pronunciation of three within the
local dialect. It can be used as a
general number to represent
"three" (e.g.第仨号 dì sā hào,
"number three"; 星期
仨 3 sā 三
仨 xīngqīsā, "Wednesday"), or
as an alternative for 三个 "three
of" (e.g. 我们仨 Wǒmen sā, "the
three of us", as opposed to 我们
三个 Wǒmen sān gè).
Regardless of usage,
a measure word (such as 个)
never follows after 仨.

In Cantonese speech, when 十

is used in the middle of a
number, preceded by a
呀 10 yā 十 multiplier and followed by a
ones digit, 十 becomes 呀 (aa6),
e.g. 六呀三, 63. This usage is
not observed in Mandarin.

念 廿 20 niàn 二十 The written form is still used to

refer to dates, especially
Chinese calendar dates.
Spoken form is still used in
 various dialects of Chinese.
See Reading and transcribing
numbers section below.
In Cantonese, 廿 (jaa6) must be
followed by another digit 1-9
(e.g. 廿三, 23), a measure word
(e.g. 廿個), or be in a phrase
like 廿幾 ("twenty-something");
it is not used by itself to mean
20.
卄 is a rare variant.

The written form is still used to

abbreviate date references in
Chinese. For example, May 30
Movement (五卅運動).
Spoken form is still used in
various dialects of Chinese.
See Reading and transcribing
卅 30 sà 三十
numbers section below. As with
廿, 卅 must be used with
another number to mean 卅幾
("thirty-something") in
Cantonese. Used in other
dialects too, as well as historical
writings.

卌 40 xì 四十 Spoken form is still used in

various dialects of Chinese,
albeit very rare, as well as
historical writings written
in Classical Chinese.
As with 廿, 卌 must be used
with another number to mean
卌幾 ("forty-something") in
 Cantonese. The usage of the
word 卌 is done in the following
matter, "sei(四) ah ##", or "4 ah
##". Thus 41 would be
pronounced "sei ah yat", i.e.
"four ah one".

Very rarely used; one example

is in the name of a library
皕 200 bì 二百
in Huzhou, 皕宋樓 (Bìsòng
Lóu).

Characters with military usage[edit]

In the PLA, some numbers will have altered names when used for clearer radio
communications. They are:

 0: renamed 洞 (dòng) lit. hole

 1: renamed 幺 (yāo) lit. small
 2: renamed 两 (liǎng) lit. double
 4: renamed 刀 (dāo) lit. knife
 7: renamed 拐 (guǎi) lit. turn
 9: renamed 勾 (gōu) lit. hook
Large numbers[edit]

For numbers larger than 10,000, similarly to the long and short scales in the West, there
have been four systems in ancient and modern usage. The original one, with unique
names for all powers of ten up to the 14th, is ascribed to the Yellow Emperor in the 6th
century book by Zhen Luan, Wujing suanshu (Arithmetic in Five Classics). In modern
Chinese only the second system is used, in which the same ancient names are used,
but each represents a number 10,000 (myriad, 萬 wàn) times the previous:

Characte Factor of
億 兆 京 垓 秭 穰 溝 澗 正 載
r (T) increase

Characte 亿 兆 京 垓 秭 穰 沟 涧 正 载
 r (S)

zhà zhēn
Pinyin yì jīng gāi zǐ ráng gōu jiàn zài
o g

jik siu ging goi joeng kau gaan zing zoi

Jyutping zi2
1 6 1 1 4 1 3 3 3

Hokkien kian tsiàn

ik tiāu gai tsí liōng kau kán tsài
POJ n n

Alternati 經/
杼 壤
ve 经

Each
numeral is
1 105 106 107 108 109 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 10 (十 shí)
times the
previous.

Each
numeral is
2 10,000 (萬
(current 108 1012 1016 1020 1024 1028 1032 1036 1040 1044 (T) or 万
usage) (S) wàn)
times the
previous.

3 108 1016 1024 1032 1040 1048 1056 1064 1072 1080 Each
numeral is
108 (萬乘以
萬 (T) or 万
 乘以万 (S)
wàn chéng
yǐ wàn,
10000
times
10000)
times the
previous.

Each
numeral is
the square
of the
1012 10409
4 108 1016 1032 1064 10256 10512 101024 102048 previous.
8 6

This is
similar to
the -yllion s
ystem.

In practice, this situation does not lead to ambiguity, with the exception of 兆 (zhào),
which means 1012 according to the system in common usage throughout the Chinese
communities as well as in Japan and Korea, but has also been used for 106 in recent
years (especially in mainland China for megabyte). To avoid problems arising from the
ambiguity, the PRC government never uses this character in official documents, but
uses 万亿 (wànyì) instead. The ROC government in Taiwan uses 兆 (zhào) to mean
1012 in official documents.

Numbers from Buddhism[edit]

This article may be expanded with text translated from
the corresponding article in Chinese. (September 2010) Click [show] for
important translation instructions. [show]

Numerals beyond 載 zài come from Buddhist texts in Sanskrit, but are mostly found in
ancient texts.

Charact Charact Pinyi Jyutpin Hokkie Value Notes

 er (T) er (S) n g n POJ

極 极 jí gik1 ki̍ k 1048 Literally means "Extreme"

Literally means "Sands of

the Ganges"; a metaphor
héng
hang4 hîng- 1052[citatio used in a number
恆河沙 恒河沙 hé
ho4 sa1 hô-sua n needed]
of Buddhist texts referring
shā
to the grains of sand in the
Ganges River

From
ā aa1
a-sing- Sanskrit Asaṃkhyeya असंख्
阿僧祇 sēng zang1 1056
kî येय, meaning "incalculable,
qí zi2
innumerable, infinite"

naa5
nà ná-iû- From Sanskrit Nayuta नयुत,
那由他 jau4 1060
yóu tā thann meaning "myriad"
taa1

bat1 put-
bùkě Literally translated as
不可思議 不可思议 ho2 si1 khó-su- 1064
sīyì "unfathomable"
ji3 gī

wú mou4 bô- Literally translated as

無量 无量 1068
liàng loeng6 liōng "without measure"

dà daai6 Literally translated as "a

大數 大数 ta-siàu 1072
shù sou3 large number"

Small numbers[edit]
The following are characters used to denote small order of magnitude in Chinese
historically. With the introduction of SI units, some of them have been incorporated as SI
prefixes, while the rest have fallen into disuse.

Character(s Character(s) Valu

Pinyin Notes
) (T) (S) e

Literally, "Nirvana's Tranquility"

涅槃寂靜 涅槃寂静 niè pán jì jìng 10−24

攸 (T) or 幺 (S) corresponds to
the SI prefix yocto-.

(Ancient Chinese, from Sanskrit

阿摩羅 阿摩罗 ā mó luó 10−23
अमल amala)

(Ancient Chinese, from Sanskrit

阿頼耶 阿赖耶 ā lài yē 10−22
आलय ālaya)

Literally, "Quiet"

清靜 清净 qīng jìng 10−21

介 (T) or 仄 (S) corresponds to
the SI prefix zepto-.

虛空 虚空 xū kōng 10−20 Literally, "Void"

六德 liù dé 10−19 (Ancient Chinese)

Literally, "Brevity", from Sanskrit

क्षण ksaṇa

剎那 刹那 chà nà 10−18
阿 corresponds to the SI
prefix atto-.

彈指 弹指 tán zhǐ 10−17 Literally, "Flick of a finger"

瞬息 shùn xī 10−16 Literally, "Moment of Breath"

須臾 须臾 xū yú 10−15 (Ancient Chinese)

飛 (T) or 飞 (S) corresponds to

 the SI prefix femto-.

逡巡 qūn xún 10−14 (Ancient Chinese)

模糊 mó hu 10−13 Literally, "Blurred"

(Ancient Chinese)

漠 mò 10−12
皮 corresponds to the SI
prefix pico-.

渺 miǎo 10−11 (Ancient Chinese)

埃 āi 10−10 (Ancient Chinese)

Literally, "Dust"

塵 尘 chén 10−9
奈 (T) or 纳 (S) corresponds to
the SI prefix nano-.

沙 shā 10−8 Literally, "Sand"

纖 纤 xiān 10−7 Literally, "Fiber"

still in use, corresponds to the SI

微 wēi 10−6
prefix micro-.

忽 hū 10−5 (Ancient Chinese)

絲 丝 sī 10−4 "Thread"

also 毛.

毫 háo 10−3
still in use, corresponds to the SI
prefix milli-.

also 釐.

厘 lí 10−2
still in use, corresponds to the SI
prefix centi-.

still in use, corresponds to the SI

分 fēn 10−1
prefix deci-.
SI prefixes[edit]
See also: Chinese units of measurement

In the People's Republic of China, the translations for the SI prefixes in 1981 were
different from those used today. The larger (兆, 京, 垓, 秭, 穰) and smaller Chinese
numerals (微, 纖, 沙, 塵, 渺) were defined as translations for the SI prefixes
as mega, giga, tera, peta, exa, micro, nano, pico, femto, atto, resulting in the creation of
yet more values for each numeral.[3]

The Republic of China (Taiwan) defined 百萬 as the translation for mega. This
translation is widely used in official documents, academic communities, informational
industries, etc. However, the civil broadcasting industries sometimes use 兆赫 to
represent "megahertz".

Today, the governments of both China and Taiwan use phonetic transliterations for the
SI prefixes. However, the governments have each chosen different Chinese characters
for certain prefixes. The following table lists the two different standards together with the
early translation.

SI Prefixes

Valu
Symbol English Early translation PRC standard ROC standard
e

1024 Y yotta- 尧 yáo 佑 yòu

1021 Z zetta- 泽 zé 皆 jiē

1018 E exa- 穰[3] ráng 艾 ài 艾 ài

1015 P peta- 秭[3] zǐ 拍 pāi 拍 pāi

1012 T tera- 垓[3] gāi 太 tài 兆 zhào

109 G giga- 京[3] jīng 吉 jí 吉 jí

106 M mega- 兆[3] zhào 兆 zhào 百萬 bǎiwàn

103 k kilo- 千 qiān 千 qiān 千 qiān

102 h hecto- 百 bǎi 百 bǎi 百 bǎi

101 da deca- 十 shí 十 shí 十 shí

100 (None) one 一 yī 一 yī

10−1 d deci- 分 fēn 分 fēn 分 fēn

10−2 c centi- 厘 lí 厘 lí 厘 lí

10−3 m milli- 毫 háo 毫 háo 毫 háo

10−6 µ micro- 微[3] wēi 微 wēi 微 wēi

10−9 n nano- 纖[3] xiān 纳 nà 奈 nài

10−12 p pico- 沙[3] shā 皮 pí 皮 pí

10−15 f femto- 塵[3] chén 飞 fēi 飛 fēi

10−18 a atto- 渺[3] miǎo 阿à 阿à

 10−21 z zepto- 仄 zè 介 jiè

10−24 y yocto- 幺 yāo 攸 yōu

Reading and transcribing numbers[edit]

Whole numbers[edit]

Multiple-digit numbers are constructed using a multiplicative principle; first the digit itself
(from 1 to 9), then the place (such as 10 or 100); then the next digit.

In Mandarin, the multiplier 兩 (liǎng) is often used rather than 二 (èr) for all numbers
greater than 200 with the "2" numeral (although as noted earlier this varies from dialect
to dialect and person to person). Use of both 兩 (liǎng) or 二 (èr) are acceptable for the
number 200. When writing in the Cantonese dialect, 二 (yi6) is used to represent the "2"
numeral for all numbers. In the southern Min dialect of Chaozhou (Teochew), 兩 (no6) is
used to represent the "2" numeral in all numbers from 200 onwards. Thus:

Characters

Numbe Structur
r e Shanghaines
Mandarin Cantonese Chaozhou
e

60 [6] [10] 六十 六十 六十 六十

[2] [10] or
20 二十 二十 or 廿 二十 廿
[20]

[2] (èr) or
200 (liǎng) 二百 or 兩百 二百 or 兩百 兩百 兩百
[100]

2000 [2] (èr) or 二千 or 兩千 二千 or 兩千 兩千 兩千

(liǎng)
 [1000]

[4] [10]
45 四十五 四十五 or 卌五 四十五 四十五
[5]

[2]
[1,000]
兩千三百六十 二千三百六十 兩千三百六十 兩千三百六十
2,362 [3] [100]
二 二 二 二
[6] [10]
[2]

For the numbers 11 through 19, the leading "one" (一) is usually omitted. In some
dialects, like Shanghainese, when there are only two significant digits in the number, the
leading "one" and the trailing zeroes are omitted. Sometimes, the one before "ten" in the
middle of a number, such as 213, is omitted. Thus:

Strict Putonghua Colloquial or dialect usage

Number

Structure Characters Structure Characters

14 [10] [4] 十四

一萬二 or 萬
12000 [1] [10000] [2] [1000] 一萬兩千 [1] [10000] [2]
二

[1] [100] [10]

114 [1] [100] [1] [10] [4] 一百一十四 一百十四
[4]

[1] [1000] [1] [100] [5] [10] 一千一百五十

1158 See note 1 below
[8] 八

Notes:
 1. Nothing is ever omitted in large and more complicated numbers such as this.

In certain older texts like the Protestant Bible or in poetic usage, numbers such as 114
may be written as [100] [10] [4] (百十四).

For numbers larger than a myriad, the same grouping system used in English applies,
except in groups of four places (myriads) rather than in groups of three (thousands).
Hence it is more convenient to think of numbers here as in groups of four, thus
1,234,567,890 is regrouped here as 12,3456,7890. Larger than a myriad, each number
is therefore four zeroes longer than the one before it, thus 10000 × wàn (萬) = yì (億). If
one of the numbers is between 10 and 19, the leading "one" is omitted as per the above
point. Hence (numbers in parentheses indicate that the number has been written as one
number rather than expanded):

Number Structure Characters

(12)
12,345,678,902,3 [1,0000,0000,00
45 00] (3456) 十二兆三千四百五十六億七千八百九十萬兩千三
(12,3456,7890,23 [1,0000,0000] 百四十五
45) (7890) [1,0000]
(2345)

Interior zeroes before the unit position (as in 1002) must be spelt explicitly. The reason
for this is that trailing zeroes (as in 1200) are often omitted as shorthand, so ambiguity
occurs. One zero is sufficient to resolve the ambiguity. Where the zero is before a digit
other than the units digit, the explicit zero is not ambiguous and is therefore optional, but
preferred. Thus:

Number Structure Characters

205 [2] [100] [0] [5] 二百〇五

100,004
[10] [10,000] [0] [4] 十萬〇四
(10,0004)
 10,050,026 (1005) [10,000] (26) or 一千〇五萬〇二十六 or
(1005,0026) (1005) [10,000] (026) 一千〇五萬二十六

Fractional values[edit]

To construct a fraction, the denominator is written first, followed by 分之 ("parts of") and
then the numerator. This is the opposite of how fractions are read in English, which is
numerator first. Each half of the fraction is written the same as a whole number. Mixed
numbers are written with the whole-number part first, followed by 又 ("and"), then the
fractional part.

Fraction Structure Characters

2
/3 [3] [parts of] [2] 三分之二

15
/32 [3] [10] [2] [parts of] [10] [5] 三十二分之十五

1
/3000 [3] [1000] [parts of] [1] 三千分之一

3 5/ 6 [3] [and] [6] [parts of] [5] 三又六分之五

Percentages are constructed similarly, using 百 (100) as the denominator. The 一 (one)
before 百 is omitted.

Percentage Structure Characters

25% [100] [parts of] [2] [10] [5] 百分之二十五

110% [100] [parts of] [1] [100] [1] [10] 百分之一百一十

Decimal numbers are constructed by first writing the whole number part, then inserting a
point (simplified Chinese: 点; traditional Chinese: 點; pinyin: diǎn), and finally the decimal
expression. The decimal expression is written using only the digits for 0 to 9, without
multiplicative words.

Decimal
Structure Characters
expression

16.98 [10] [6] [point] [9] [8] 十六點九八

[1] [10000] [2] [1000] [3] [100]

12345.6789 一萬兩千三百四十五點六七八九
[4] [10] [5] [point] [6] [7] [8] [9]

75.4025 [7] [10] [5] [point] [4] [0] [2] [5] 七十五點四〇二五 or 七十五點四零二五

0.1 [0] [point] [1] 零點一

Ordinal numbers[edit]

Ordinal numbers are formed by adding 第 dì ("sequence") before the number.

Ordinal Structure Characters

1st [sequence] [1] 第一

2nd [sequence] [2] 第二

82nd [sequence] [8] [10] [2] 第八十二

Negative numbers[edit]

Negative numbers are formed by adding (simplified Chinese: 负; traditional

Chinese: 負, Pinyin: fù, Jyuping: fu6) before the number.

Number Structure Characters

 −1158 [negative] [1] [1000] [1] [100] [5] [10] [8] 負一千一百五十八

−3 5/6 [negative] [3] [and] [6] [parts of] [5] 負三又六分之五

−75.4025 [negative] [7] [10] [5] [point] [4] [0] [2] [5] 負七十五點四零二五

Usage[edit]
See also: Chinese classifier and Chinese calendar

Chinese grammar requires the use of classifiers (measure words) when a numeral is
used together with a noun to express a quantity. For example, "three people" is
expressed as 三个人 sān ge rén, "three GE person", where 个 ge is a classifier. There
exist many different classifiers, for use with different sets of nouns, although 个 is the
most common, and may be used informally in place of other classifiers.

Chinese uses cardinal numbers in certain situations in which English would use ordinals.
For example, 三楼 sān lóu (literally "three story") means "third floor" ("second floor" in
British numbering). Likewise, 二十一世纪 èrshí yī shìjì (literally "twenty-one century") is
used for "21st century".[4]

Numbers of years are commonly spoken as a sequence of digits, as in 二零零一 èr líng

líng yī ("two zero zero one") for the year 2001.[5] Names of months and days (in the
Western system) are also expressed using numbers: 一月 yīyuè ("one month") for
January, etc.; and 星期一 xīngqīyī ("week one") for Monday, etc. (although Sunday is 星
期日 xīngqīrì, or informally 星期天 xīngqītiān, "week day"). Full dates are usually written
in the format 2001 年 1 月 20 日 for January 20, 2001 (using 年 nián "year",
月 yuè "month", and 日 rì "day") – all the numbers are read as cardinals, not ordinals,
with no leading zeroes, and the year is read as a sequence of digits. For brevity the
year yuè and rì may be dropped to give a date composed of just numbers, so for
example 64, in Chinese is six-four, short for month six-day four i.e. June Fourth, a
common Chinese shorthand for the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

Counting rod and Suzhou numerals[edit]

Counting rod numerals

Main article: Suzhou numerals

In the same way that Roman numerals were standard in ancient and medieval Europe
for mathematics and commerce, the Chinese formerly used therod numerals, which is a
positional system. The Suzhou numerals (simplified Chinese: 苏州花码; traditional
Chinese: 蘇州花碼; pinyin: Sūzhōu huāmǎ) system is a variation of the Southern
Song rod numerals. Nowadays, the huāmǎ system is only used for displaying prices in
Chinese markets or on traditional handwritten invoices.

Hand gestures[edit]
Main article: Chinese number gestures

There is a common method of using of one hand to signify the numbers one to ten.
While the five digits on one hand can express the numbers one to five, six to ten have
special signs that can be used in commerce or day-to-day communication.

Historical use of numerals in China[edit]

Shang oracle bone numerals of 14th century B.C.[6]

West Zhou dynasty bronze script

rod numeral place value from Yongle Encyclopedia

Japanese counting board with grids

Most Chinese numerals of later periods were descendants of the Shang dynasty oracle
numerals of the 14th century BC. The oracle bone script numerals were found on
tortoise shell and animal bones. In early civilizations, the Shang were able to express
any numbers, however large, with only nine symbols and a counting board.[7]

Some of the bronze script numerals such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, and 13 became part of
the system of rod numerals.

In this system, horizontal rod numbers are used for the tens, thousands, hundred
thousands etc. Sun Tzu wrote that "one is vertical, ten is horizontal".[8]

七 一 八 二 四

7 1 8 2 4

The counting rod numerals system has place value and decimal numerals for
computation, and was used widely by Chinese merchants, mathematicians and
astronomers from the Han dynasty to the 16th century.

Alexander Wylie, Christian missionary to China, in 1853 already refuted the notion that
"the Chinese numbers were written in words at length", and stated that in ancient China,
calculation was carried out by means of counting rods, and "the written character is
evidently a rude presentation of these". After being introduced to the rod numerals, he
said "Having thus obtained a simple but effective system of figures, we find the Chinese
 in actual use of a method of notation depending on the theory of local value [i.e. place-
value], several centuries before such theory was understood in Europe, and while yet
the science of numbers had scarcely dawned among the Arabs."[9]

During the Ming and Qing dynasties (when Arabic numerals were first introduced into
China), some Chinese mathematicians used Chinese numeral characters as positional
system digits. After the Qing period, both the Chinese numeral characters and the
Suzhou numerals were replaced by Arabic numerals in mathematical writings.

Cultural influences[edit]
Traditional Chinese numeric characters are also used in Japan and Korea and were
used in Vietnam before the 20th century. In vertical text (that is, read top to bottom),
using characters for numbers is the norm, while in horizontal text, Arabic numerals are
most common. Chinese numeric characters are also used in much the same formal or
decorative fashion that Roman numerals are in Western cultures. Chinese numerals
may appear together with Arabic numbers on the same sign or document

Taiwanese units of measurement (Chinese: 臺制; pinyin: Táizhì; Pe̍ h-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.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Length
 2 Area
 3 Volume
 4 Mass
 5 See also
 6 Notes
 7 References
 8 External links

Length[edit]
Linear measure in Taiwan is largely metric but some units derived from
traditional Japanese units of measurement remain in use.
 Chines
Unit pinyin in metric units Basis
e

1 Taiwanese Japanese
cùn 寸 ≡ 3.030 cm
inch
sun

Japanese
1 Taiwanese foot chǐ 尺 ≡ 30.30 cm
shaku

Area[edit]

An advertisement from IKEA for a 10-píng apartment

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 jiǎ, derives from the obsolete Dutch unit morgen which was introduced during
Taiwan's Dutch era; or from the Dutch word for "field", akker. The lí 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 píng derives from the
Japanese tsubo, and is the size of two sleeping (tatami) mats.

 1 píng (坪) = (6 chǐ)2 = 3.306 square metres (35.59 sq ft)

 1 mǔ (畝) = 30 píng = 99.2 square metres (1,068 sq ft)
 1 jiǎ (甲) = 2,934 píng = 0.9699 hectares (2.397 acres)[1]
 1 lí (犁) = 5 jiǎ = 4.8496 hectares (11.984 acres)

Volume[edit]
Volume measure in Taiwan is largely metric.

This section requires expansion.

(June 2008)

Mass[edit]

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.

 1 cash (釐; lí) = 37.5 mg

 1 candareen (分; fēn) = 10 cash = 375 mg
 1 mace (錢; qián) = 10 candareens = 3.75 g
 1 tael (兩; liǎng) = 10 mace = 37.5 g
 1 catty (斤; jīn) = 16 taels = 0.6 kg
 1 picul (擔; dān) = 100 catties = 60 kg

Note the tael and catty are widely used.

Hong Kong has three main systems of units of measurement in current use:
  The Chinese units of measurement of the Qing Empire (no longer in widespread use
in mainland China);[citation needed]
 British Imperial units; and
 The metric System.

In 1976 the Hong Kong Government started the conversion to the metric system, and as
of 2012 measurements for government purposes, such as road signs, are almost always
in metric units. However, all three systems are officially permitted for trade,[1] and in the
wider society a mixture of all three systems prevails.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Length
 2 Weight
 3 Area
 4 Volume
 5 Time
 6 Energy
 7 Power
 8 References

Length[edit]
The Chinese system's most commonly used units were 里 (li), 丈 (tseung/cheung), 尺
(tsek/chek), 寸 (tsun/chun), 分 (fen/fan) in descending scale order. These units are now
rarely used in daily life, the Imperial and Metric systems being preferred.

The Imperial system's units are written with the same basic Chinese characters as the
Chinese system. In order to distinguish between the units of the two systems, the units
can be prefixed with "Ying" (Chinese: 英) for the British Imperial system and "Wa"
(Chinese: 華) for the Chinese system. In writing, derived characters are often used, with
an additional 口(mouth) radical to the left of the original Chinese character, for writing
Imperial units. The most commonly used units are the mile or "li" (Chinese: 哩),
the yard or "ma" (Chinese:碼), the foot or "chek" (Chinese: 呎), and the inch or "tsun"
(Chinese: 吋).

Weight[edit]
Chinese, Imperial and Metric weight units are all used in Hong Kong. The choice of
system depends on the type of goods and their origins. Metric is used for all official
purposes, for example the Post Office and Road signs.[2][3] Packaged food weights and
volumes may be given using any of the three systems of units.[4]
Traditional weights are still de facto standard in certain areas. For
example, vegetables, meats, Chinese medicines are usually measured in Chinese units,
while some fruits are normally measured using the Imperial system.

Precious metals (gold, silver and platinum) are traded in the Chinese system, though
there is some discrepancy from other goods.

Area[edit]
The traditional measure of flat area is in square feet (Chinese: 方呎, 平方呎) of the
Imperial system. Apartment or office size is generally still given in square feet.
Traditionally, the measurement of agricultural plots and fields are conducted in 畝 (mau)
of the Chinese system.

Volume[edit]
In Chinese system, the measurement of volume of rice is 斗 (tau) but it is replaced by
packaged rice in weight. The volume of water and fuel is the litre. The gallon (加侖, ka-
lun) of the Imperial system is still occasionally used.

Time[edit]
Time measurement follows the international system. Gregorian calendar is usually used,
but the Chinese calendar also plays a very important role in everyday life and in telling
the dates of traditional festivals.

In the following table, multiple Chinese names are listed in the order of usage frequency.

Equivalent
English Chinese Cantonese
in other Notes
name name pronunciation
units

Roughly follows a solar cycle.

Historically, the Chinese refer
Year 365 or 366
年 nin4 to the return of the Sun in
(Gregorian) days
the winter solstice as "歲"
(seui3).

Year 年 nin4 12 or 13 In Chinese years with 13

(Chinese) Chinese months, the 13th month is
 known as the intercalary
months
month.

Month 28, 29, 30 The Gregorian month lost the

月 yut6
(Gregorian) or 31 days meaning of the lunar cycle.

Month 29 or 30 Roughly in sync with

月 yut6
(Chinese) days the lunar cycle

Day 日 yat6 24 hours

4 quarters "鐘" also means "clock" or

jung1/jung1
Hour 鐘/鐘頭/小時 or 60 "bell", which usually chimes
tau 4/siu2 si4
minutes every hour.

"骨" is
Quarter 骨 gwat1 15 minutes the Cantonese loanword for
"quarter".

"字" is very commonly used

字 ji6 5 minutes in colloquial speech, more so
than "分鐘".

fan1
Minute 分鐘/分 60 seconds
jung1/fan1

Second 秒 miu5

Energy[edit]
The kilojoule or kilocalorie is the unit used for the measurement of energy in food.
Power[edit]
Horsepower (馬力) is still the dominant measurement for the power of cars and air-
conditioning systems. The Chinese counting word 匹 (pat) is the unit to describe it
in Cantonese.