Catty Explained

Catty
Standard:Chinese
Quantity:Mass
Units1:Mainland China
Units2:Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand
Units3:Vietnam
Units4:Hong Kong
Units5:Malaysia
Units6:Singapore
Units Imp1:Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore
Inunits Imp1: lb
C:
P:jīn
W:chin
J:gan1
Y:gàn
Vie:cân
Kanji:
Hiragana:きん
Romaji:kin
Hangul:
Hanja:
Rr:geun
Msa:kati
Mnc:ᡤᡳᠩᡤᡝᠨ
Mnc V:ginggen

The catty or kati is a traditional Chinese unit of mass used across East and Southeast Asia, notably for weighing food and other groceries. Related units include the picul, equal to 100 catties, and the tael, which is of a catty. A stone is a former unit used in Hong Kong equal to 120 catties and a gwan is 30 catties. Catty or kati is still used in Southeast Asia as a unit of measurement in some contexts especially by the significant Overseas Chinese populations across the region, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore.

The catty is traditionally equivalent to around pound avoirdupois, formalised as 604.78982 grams in Hong Kong,[1] 604.5 grams historically in Vietnam,[2] 604.79 grams in Malaysia[3] and 604.8 grams in Singapore.[4] In some countries, the weight has been rounded to 600 grams (Taiwan,[5] Japan, Korea[6] and Thailand). In mainland China, the catty (more commonly translated as jin within China) has been rounded to 500 grams and is referred to as the market catty (Chinese: 市斤) in order to distinguish it from the kilogram, called the common catty (Chinese: 公斤), and it is subdivided into 10 taels rather than the usual 16.

Etymology

The word catty comes from Malay kati, meaning 'the weight'. It has also been borrowed into English as caddy, meaning a container for storing tea.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Weights and Measures Ordinance . Laws of Hong Kong.
  2. Web site: Vietnam, weights . Historical Vietnamese measurements of mass.
  3. Web site: Weights and Measures Act 1972 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140201182503/http://www.kpdnkk.gov.my/akta-timbang-dan-sukat-1972 . 2014-02-01 . Laws of Malaysia.
  4. Web site: Weights and Measures Act . Statutes of the Republic of Singapore.
  5. http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/2001/appendix6.htm Weights and Measures in Use in Taiwan
  6. Web site: Regulation on Approval and Notification of Herbal (crude) Medicinal Preparations, Etc. . Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.