Taiwanese tael (台兩) to grams
Convert Taiwanese tael (台兩) to grams. One tael is exactly 37.5 g — sixteen to a catty, which is where 半斤八兩 comes from.
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The formula
grams = 台兩 × 37.5A 台斤 is exactly 600 g and holds sixteen 兩, so one 台兩 is exactly 37.5 g. No rounding anywhere.
Sixteen, not ten
The sixteen-tael catty is the older system and it is why the idiom 半斤八兩 — “half a catty, eight taels” — means two things that are exactly equal. Half of sixteen is eight, so the phrase is a tautology, which is the joke.
The mainland broke this in 1959 when it redefined the 市斤 as 500 g and split it into ten 兩 instead of sixteen. The idiom survived; the arithmetic under it did not. Taiwan and Hong Kong kept sixteen.
| System | Catty | Taels per catty | One tael |
|---|---|---|---|
| 台制 (Taiwan) | 600 g | 16 | 37.5 g |
| 司馬 (Hong Kong) | 604.79 g | 16 | 37.80 g |
| 市制 (mainland) | 500 g | 10 | 50 g |
Three systems, one character, and the mainland tael is the heaviest of the three despite its catty being the lightest.
Quick reference
| 台兩 | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 兩 | 37.5 g | 1.32 oz |
| 2 兩 | 75 g | 2.65 oz |
| 4 兩 | 150 g | 5.29 oz |
| 8 兩 | 300 g | 10.58 oz |
| 16 兩 | 600 g | 21.16 oz — one 台斤 |
| 32 兩 | 1200 g | 42.33 oz |
Below the tael
| Unit | Grams | Also |
|---|---|---|
| 兩 | 37.5 | ⅟₁₆ 台斤 |
| 錢 | 3.75 | ⅒ 兩 |
| 分 | 0.375 | ⅒ 錢 |
| 釐 | 0.0375 | ⅒ 分 |
Below the tael the system is decimal, which is what makes it workable for dispensing. A Chinese medicine prescription written in 錢 is being written in units of 3.75 g, and a five-錢 quantity is 18.75 g.
Note that 分 and 釐 are also area and length units in other contexts — the 分 in a land deed is 969.92 m². The character is doing several jobs, and only the context disambiguates.
Where it is still used
- Chinese medicine. Prescriptions and dispensing are in 兩 and 錢.
- Tea. Loose-leaf tea is often sold by the 兩 rather than by 100 g.
- Gold and jewellery. Taiwan quotes gold in 台錢 (3.75 g); Hong Kong uses a separate troy tael of 37.429 g, which is not the 37.80 g tael used for goods.
- Cooking. Older Taiwanese recipes give quantities in 兩.
A recipe calling for 4 兩 of pork wants 150 g.
Estimating in your head
Anchor on 8 兩 = 300 g and scale from there: 4 兩 is 150 g, 16 兩 is 600 g. For an arbitrary number, 37.5 is 300/8, so multiply by 3, divide by 8, and add two zeros — 5 兩 gives 15 ÷ 8 = 1.875, so 187.5 g.