View source for Catty

{{Short description|Traditional Chinese unit of weight}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox unit
| name         = Catty
| standard     = [[Chinese units of measurement|Chinese]]
| quantity     = [[Mass]]
| symbol       = {{linktext|斤}}
| units1       = [[Mainland China]]<hr />
| inunits1     = {{val|0.5|u=kg}}
| units2       = [[Japan]], [[Korea]], [[Taiwan]], [[Thailand]]<hr />
| inunits2     = {{val|0.6|u=kg}}
| units3       = [[Vietnam]]<hr />
| inunits3     = {{val|0.6045|u=kg}}
| units4       = [[Hong Kong]]<hr />
| inunits4     = {{val|0.60478982|u=kg}}
| units5       = [[Malaysia]]<hr />
| inunits5     = {{val|0.60479|u=kg}}
| units6       = [[Singapore]]<hr />
| inunits6     = {{val|0.6048|u=kg}}
| units_imp1   = [[Hong Kong]], [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]]
| inunits_imp1 = {{sfrac|1|1|3}} [[Pound (mass)|lb]]
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| c = 斤
| p = jīn
| w = chin
| j = gan1
| y = gàn
| poj = {{ubl|kin|kun}}
| vie = cân
| kanji = 斤
| hiragana = きん
| romaji = kin
| hangul = 근
| hanja = 斤
| rr = geun
| msa = kati
| mnc = ᡤᡳᠩᡤᡝᠨ
| mnc_v = ginggen
}}
The '''catty''' or '''kati''' is a traditional Chinese unit of [[mass]] used across [[East Asia|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 {{frac|16}} of a catty.  A [[stone (Chinese mass)|stone]] is a former unit used in Hong Kong equal to 120 catties and a ''gwan'' ({{hani|鈞}}) 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 {{frac|1|1|3}} [[pound avoirdupois]], formalised as 604.78982 [[gram]]s in Hong Kong,<ref name="hk_law">{{Cite web |title=Weights and Measures Ordinance |url=https://www.elegislation.gov.hk/hk/cap68!en?xpid=ID_1438403555032_004 |website=Laws of Hong Kong}}</ref> 604.5 grams historically in Vietnam,<ref name="vietnamese catty">{{Cite web |title=Vietnam, weights |url=https://www.sizes.com/units/charts/UTBLVietnam_wts.htm |website=Historical Vietnamese measurements of mass}}</ref> 604.79&nbsp;grams in Malaysia<ref name="my_law">{{Cite web |title=Weights and Measures Act 1972 |url=http://www.kpdnkk.gov.my/akta-timbang-dan-sukat-1972 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201182503/http://www.kpdnkk.gov.my/akta-timbang-dan-sukat-1972 |archive-date=2014-02-01 |website=Laws of Malaysia}}</ref> and 604.8 grams in Singapore.<ref name="sg_law">{{Cite web |title=Weights and Measures Act |url=https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/WMA1975#Sc3- |website=Statutes of the Republic of Singapore}}</ref> In some countries, the weight has been rounded to 600&nbsp;grams (Taiwan,<ref>[http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/2001/appendix6.htm Weights and Measures in Use in Taiwan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229224604/http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/2001/appendix6.htm# |date=2010-12-29}} from the ''Republic of China Yearbook'' – Taiwan 2001.</ref> Japan, Korea<ref>{{Cite web |title=Regulation on Approval and Notification of Herbal (crude) Medicinal Preparations, Etc. |url=https://www.mfds.go.kr/eng/brd/m_27/down.do?brd_id=eng0005&seq=70932&data_tp=A&file_seq=2 |website=Ministry of Food and Drug Safety}}</ref> and Thailand). In [[mainland China]], the catty (more commonly translated as jin within China) has been rounded to 500&nbsp;grams and is referred to as the '''market catty''' ({{lang|zh|市斤}} {{tlit|zh|shìjīn}}) in order to distinguish it from the kilogram, called the ''common catty'' ({{lang|zh|公斤}} {{tlit|zh|gōngjīn}}), 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 ''[[tea caddy|caddy]]'', meaning a container for storing tea.
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Sam-ho-chhi.jpg|Fruit sold in catties in a market in [[Sanchong]], [[New Taipei]], Taiwan.
Lin Hua Tai tea pricelist.jpg|Tea priced by the catty in [[Dadaocheng]], [[Taipei]], Taiwan.
Hong kong weight standards 2.jpg|A spring scale in Hong Kong shows conversions between [[metric system]] (in red), [[Chinese_units_of_measurement|traditional Chinese unit]] (in green) and [[British Imperial Units]] (in blue).
</gallery>
== See also ==
* [[Chinese units of measurement]]
* [[Japanese units of measurement]]
* [[Korean units of measurement]]
* [[Taiwanese units of measurement]]
* [[Vietnamese units of measurement]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Chinese units in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Units of mass]]