Nepalese customary units of measurement explained
In Nepal, some customary units of measurement are still used, although the metric system has been the official standard since 1968.[1]
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The kos (kosh, krosh, koss) is a very ancient measure of distance, measuring about 2.25 miles or 3.7 km.[2]
- 1 angul = approx. 0.75 inch
- 4 angul = 1 dharnugrah (bow grip) = 3 in
- 8 angul = 1 dhanurmushti (fist with thumb raised) = 6 in
- 12 angul = 1 vitastaa (span) = 9 in
- 2 vitastaa (cubit) = 18 in
- 1 haath = 1.5 ft.
- 1 dand or dhanush (bow) = 4 haath = 6 ft
- 2000 dand = 1 kos or Gorut = 4000 yards or 2.25 miles
- 4 kosh = 1 yojan = 9 miles = 14.48 km
Land area
In Nepal, for land area measurements two types of unit systems are used. In hilly regions, ropani-aana-paisa-daam units are used while in terai regions, bigha-kattha-dhur units measurements are used. We may need to convert land area units such as aana to dhur, dhur to aana, kattha to aana, ropani to bigha, square meter to aana, square meter to dhur etc, For such area units conversion you may use Area Converter Calculator.[3]
The precise land measurement conversions as per Nepal standard are as follows:
| Units | khetmuri | bigha | kattha | dhur | ropani | aana | paisa | dam | sq.feet | sq.meter |
|---|
| khetmuri | 1 | 1.877914952 | 37.55829904 | 751.1659808 | 25 | 400 | 1600 | 6400 | 136900 | 12718.42618 |
|---|
| bigha | 0.532505478 | 1 | 20 | 400 | 13.31263696 | 213.0021914 | 852.0087655 | 3408.035062 | 72900 | 6772.631616 |
|---|
| kattha | 0.026625274 | 0.05 | 1 | 20 | 0.665631848 | 10.65010957 | 42.60043828 | 170.4017531 | 3645 | 338.6315808 |
|---|
| dhur | 0.001331264 | 0.0025 | 0.05 | 1 | 0.033281592 | 0.532505478 | 2.130021914 | 8.520087655 | 182.25 | 16.93157904 |
|---|
| ropani | 0.04 | 0.075116598 | 1.502331962 | 30.04663923 | 1 | 16 | 64 | 256 | 5476 | 508.737047 |
|---|
| aana | 0.0025 | 0.004694787 | 0.093895748 | 1.877914952 | 0.0625 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 342.25 | 31.79606544 |
|---|
| paisa | 0.000625 | 0.001173697 | 0.023473937 | 0.469478738 | 0.015625 | 0.25 | 1 | 4 | 85.5625 | 7.94901636 |
|---|
| dam | 0.00015625 | 0.000293424 | 0.005868484 | 0.117369684 | 0.00390625 | 0.0625 | 0.25 | 1 | 21.390625 | 1.98725409 |
|---|
| sq. feet | 7.3046E-06 | 1.37174E-05 | 0.000274348 | 0.005486968 | 0.000182615 | 0.002921841 | 0.011687363 | 0.046749452 | 1 | 0.09290304 |
|---|
| sq. meter | 7.86261E-05 | 0.000147653 | 0.002953062 | 0.059061237 | 0.001965652 | 0.031450432 | 0.125801729 | 0.503206915 | 10.76391042 | 1 | |
|---|
In a nutshell, The following is a partial list of everyday units used to calculate land area in Nepal.
[4] [5] - 1 Khetmuri = 25 Ropani
- 1 Bigha (बिघा) = 20 Kattha (कठ्ठा) = 6772.63 m2 = 72900 sq.ft. = 13.31 Ropani
- 1 Katha (कठ्ठा) = 20 Dhur (धुर) = 338.63 m2 = 3645 sq.ft.
- 1 Dhur (धुर) = 16.93 m2 = 182.25 sq.ft.
- 1 Ropani (रोपनी) = 16 Aana (आना) = 64 Paisa (पैसा) = 508.72 m2 = 5476 sq.ft. = 256 Daam (दाम) = 4 llka[6]
- 1 Aana (आना)= 4 Paisa (पैसा) = 31.80 m2 = 342.25 sq. ft. = 16 Daam (दाम)
- 1 Paisa (पैसा) = 4 Daam (दाम) = 7.95 m2 = 85.56 sq. ft.
- 1 Daam (दाम) = 1.99 m2 = 21.39 sq. ft.
The units of measurement of area of land depends on the part of the country where they are being used, with the Bigha-Katha-Dhur measurements common in the Terai region while the Ropani-Aana measurements are common in hilly and mountainous regions.
- Terai regionIn the Terai region, the southern parts of Nepal, the customary units are those used elsewhere in South Asia:
- 1 katha = 20 dhur
- 1 bigha = 20 katha
- Hilly and mountainous regionsA different system is used in hilly regions:
- 1 paisa = 4 dam (daam)
- 1 ana (aana) = 4 paisa[2]
- 1 ropani = 16 ana
Conversions
- 1 ropani = 74 feet × 74 feet
- 1 bigha = 13 Ropani 5 Anna
- 1 kattha = 442 square yards or 338 square meters[7]
Volume
- 10 Mutthi (fistful) = 1 Mana
- 8 Mana = 1 Pathi (4.54596L)[8]
- 20 Pathi = 1 Muri
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Standard Measurement and Weight Act, 1968. Kingdom of Nepal. 21 April 2015. 25 October 1968. 13 March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150313221636/http://www.nbsm.gov.np/index.php?func=acts. live.
- Web site: Some Land and Distance Measurement Units used in Nepal. Blog "for Nepalese Civil Engineers". 20 December 2012. 6 January 2011. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304073946/http://nepalicivilengineers.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/units-used-for-land-measurement-in.html. live.
- Web site: Area Converter Nepal. Aafnai Ghar . November 2, 2024.
- http://www.propertiesnepal.com/local-land-measurement-units-in-nepal/83/ "Land measurement units in Nepal"
- Web site: Units of Area Calculation in Nepal, Ropani Anna ana Converter Square Feet sq. ft area land units Converter loan emi calculator. www.housingnepal.com. 2017-02-13. 2017-02-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20170214002237/http://www.housingnepal.com/articles/display/units-of-area-calculation-in-nepal. live.
- Web site: Ropani to Square Feet Ropani to Kattha Ropani to Aana in Nepal. Admin. 2019-08-13. 2019-08-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20190813115451/https://www.areaconvert.com/2019/08/ropani-to-square-feet-ropani-to-kattha.html. live.
- Web site: K. A Dictionary of Units of Measurement. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 20 December 2012. Russ Rowlett. 2008. 16 November 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111116205434/http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/dictK.html. live.
- http://www.lawcommission.gov.np/en/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/standard-measurement-and-weight-act-2025-1968.pdf
