---
title: "Chinese Units of Measurement: Jin to Kg, Liang, Li, Chi and Mu in Metric, With Pinyin"
description: "Chinese units of measurement in metric: 1 斤 jin is 500 g, so jin to kg is half, 1 两 liang is 50 g, 1 里 li is 500 m, 尺 chi, 寸 cun and the 亩 mu of land, plus kilograms, metres and degrees in Chinese and 39 measuring words with pinyin and sound."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-units-of-measurement"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

Free · 39 words

# Chinese units of measurement

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Speed

## The Chinese units in metric

| | In Chinese | In metric | In imperial |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jin (catty) | 斤 jīn | 500 g, half a kilo | 1.10 lb |
| Liang (tael) | 两 liǎng | 50 g; 10 两 make a 斤 | 1.76 oz |
| Li | 里 lǐ | 500 m | 0.31 miles |
| Zhang | 丈 zhàng | 3⅓ m; 10 尺 make a 丈 | 10.9 ft |
| Chi (Chinese foot) | 尺 chǐ | 33⅓ cm; 10 寸 make a 尺 | 13.1 in |
| Cun (Chinese inch) | 寸 cùn | 3⅓ cm | 1.31 in |
| Mu | 亩 mǔ | 666⅔ m²; 15 亩 make a hectare | 0.165 acres |

## Chinese units

shì市jīn斤

jin (unit of weight, 500 grams)

jīn斤

classifier for jin, a unit of weight (half a kilogram)

liǎng两

liang (unit of weight, 50 grams)

lǐ里

li (Chinese unit of length, 500 meters)

zhàng丈

zhang (unit of length, about 3.3 m)

chǐ尺

chi (unit of length, about 33 cm)

cùn寸

cun (unit of length, about 3.3 cm)

mǔ亩

mu (Chinese unit of land area, about 667 square meters)

shì市zhì制

traditional Chinese system of weights and measures

## Metric units

gōng公jīn斤

kilogram

qiān千kè克

kilogram

kè克

gram

dūn吨

ton; metric ton

gōng公lǐ里

kilometer

mǐ米

meter (unit of length)

lí厘mǐ米

centimeter

háo毫mǐ米

millimeter

píng平fāng方mǐ米

square meter

gōng公qǐng顷

hectare

shēng升

liter

háo毫shēng升

milliliter

gōng公zhì制

metric system

## Imperial units

bàng磅

pound (unit of weight)

àng盎sī司

ounce

yīng英lǐ里

mile

yīng英chǐ尺

foot (unit of length)

yīng英cùn寸

inch

## Temperature

shè摄shì氏dù度

degrees Celsius

huá华shì氏dù度

degree Fahrenheit

dù度

degree (of temperature, angle)

## Measuring

dān单wèi位

unit (of measure)

zhòng重liàng量

weight

cháng长dù度

length

miàn面jī积

area (of a floor, piece of land, etc.)

tǐ体jī积

volume; size

## Sayings

bàn半jīn斤bā八liǎng两

six of one and half a dozen of the other

dé得cùn寸jìn进chǐ尺

to give an inch and take a mile

yī一cùn寸guāng光yīn阴yī一cùn寸jīn金

time is money; an inch of time is worth an inch of gold

wàn万lǐ里cháng长chéng城

Great Wall of China

## How do you convert jin to kg?

Halve it: 1 斤 (jīn) is exactly 500 grams, so 100 斤 is 50 kg and 120 斤 is 60 kg. Markets in China price fruit, vegetables and meat by the 斤, and people give their own weight in 斤 too: 我一百二十斤 (wǒ yìbǎi èrshí jīn) means I weigh 60 kg. In Hong Kong the catty is about 605 g and in Taiwan 600 g.

## What are the traditional Chinese units of measurement?

The market system, 市制 (shìzhì), fixed to the metric system in 1929: weight in 斤 (jīn) and 两 (liǎng), length in 里 (lǐ), 丈 (zhàng), 尺 (chǐ) and 寸 (cùn), and land in 亩 (mǔ). Since 1990 China officially uses the metric system, 公制 (gōngzhì), but 斤 and 两 are still used in every market and 亩 on every farm.

## What is a li in Chinese?

里 (lǐ) is half a kilometre, 500 metres. It is in the Chinese name of the Great Wall, 万里长城 (Wànlǐ Chángchéng), the wall ten thousand li long, and in the saying 千里之行，始于足下, a journey of a thousand li begins with a single step. A kilometre is 公里 (gōnglǐ).

## What is a mu of land?

亩 (mǔ) is the unit of farmland: 666⅔ square metres, so 15 亩 make a hectare, 公顷 (gōngqǐng), and 6 亩 are about an acre and a half. Flats and houses are measured in square metres, 平方米 (píngfāngmǐ), or just 平 (píng) for short.

## What does 半斤八两 mean?

Six of one and half a dozen of the other. Until 1959 a 斤 had 16 两, so half a 斤, 半斤 (bàn jīn), was 8 两 (bā liǎng): the same weight under two names. Today a 斤 has 10 两, but the saying stays.

## How do you say kilogram and metre in Chinese?

A kilogram is 公斤 (gōngjīn) or 千克 (qiānkè), a gram 克 (kè) and a ton 吨 (dūn); a metre is 米 (mǐ), a centimetre 厘米 (límǐ) and a kilometre 公里 (gōnglǐ); a litre is 升 (shēng). Temperatures are in 度 (dù), degrees Celsius 摄氏度 (shèshìdù): 今天三十度 is “it’s 30 degrees today”.

## Can’t hear it?

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## More for numbers in Chinese

- [Chinese numbers](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-numbers)
- [Chinese measure words](https://mandarinthewild.com/measure-words)
- [Money in Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/money-in-chinese)
- [Shopping phrases in Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-phrases/shopping)

Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; unit values from Wikipedia’s Chinese units of measurement (the market system of 1929 and 1959).