Volume Measurements

[Chris.B]

During a discussion about rice, my wife tells me there are 100 'tangs' in 1 kwien.

I have checked this out on http://www.convert-me.com/en/convert/volume but this says there are 100 'sat' in 1 kwien.

Can someone throw some light on this please?

Edited May 29, 2008 by Chris.B

[Khonwan]

1 kwien = 1,500kg

1 tang = 15kg

Therefore, 100 tang = 1 kwien

Rgds

Khonwan

[Chris.B]

1 kwien = 1,500kg

1 tang = 15kg

Therefore, 100 tang = 1 kwien

Rgds

Khonwan

Thanks! Presumably this system of measurements only apply to rice?

[Khonwan]

It applies to maize also. It depends, though, on what you are measuring. Tang is actually a measure of volume rather than weight. ‘Tang’ is a bucket. One tang of de-husked rice (as you buy to eat) weighs an official 15kg (as does maize) but one tang of rice with the husks still on weighs an official 10kg. So the measure is very specific to the produce.

I suspect that kwien must be exactly the same since the kwien is the cart pulled by buffalos and therefore must also be a volumetric measurement. But I know that in the case of maize seed and de-husked rice, one kwien is 1,500kg.

Rgds

Khonwan

[jayenram]

Just to confuse the matter further; the following are given in an old Thai diary that I have:

1 coyan 16 pikuls paddy................................... 968 kg

or 22 pikuls cargo rice................................... 1,330 kg

1 kwien 23 pikuls white rice............................... 1,391 kg

Rice miller's kwien:

82 baskets of 40 lbs each = 24 pikuls ................1,488 kg

And the following other conversions:

Length

1 kabiet ........................................... 5 mm

4 kabiet = 1 nieu............................... 20 mm

12 nieu = 1 keub .............................. 250 mm

2 keub = 1 sawk ............................... 500 mm

4 sawk = 1 wah ................................ 2 m

20 wah = 1 sen ................................ 40 m

400 sen = 1 yote .............................. 16 km

Area

1 sq wah ........................................... 4 sq m

100 sq wah = 1 ngan ......................... 400 sq m

4 ngam = 1 rai .................................. 1,600 sq m

Capacity

1 standard tanan ............................... 1 litre

20 standard tanan = 1 standard sat .... 20 litres

50 standard sat = 1 standard ban ....... 1,000 litres

2 standard ban = 1 standard kwien ..... 2,000 litres

Weight

1 baht (tical) ..................................... 15 gm

4 baht = 1 tamlung ............................ 60 gm

20 tamlung = 1 chang (kati)................ 1.2 kg

50 chang (katis) = 1 hap (pikul) ......... 60 kg (plus a headache the size of a small planet)

Unless anyone knows better?

J

[Khonwan]

Just to confuse the matter further; the following are given in an old Thai diary that I have:

1 coyan 16 pikuls paddy................................... 968 kg

or 22 pikuls cargo rice................................... 1,330 kg

1 kwien 23 pikuls white rice............................... 1,391 kg

Rice miller's kwien:

82 baskets of 40 lbs each = 24 pikuls ................1,488 kg

And the following other conversions:

Length

1 kabiet ........................................... 5 mm

4 kabiet = 1 nieu............................... 20 mm

12 nieu = 1 keub .............................. 250 mm

2 keub = 1 sawk ............................... 500 mm

4 sawk = 1 wah ................................ 2 m

20 wah = 1 sen ................................ 40 m

400 sen = 1 yote .............................. 16 km

Area

1 sq wah ........................................... 4 sq m

100 sq wah = 1 ngan ......................... 400 sq m

4 ngam = 1 rai .................................. 1,600 sq m

Capacity

1 standard tanan ............................... 1 litre

20 standard tanan = 1 standard sat .... 20 litres

50 standard sat = 1 standard ban ....... 1,000 litres

2 standard ban = 1 standard kwien ..... 2,000 litres

Weight

1 baht (tical) ..................................... 15 gm

4 baht = 1 tamlung ............................ 60 gm

20 tamlung = 1 chang (kati)................ 1.2 kg

50 chang (katis) = 1 hap (pikul) ......... 60 kg (plus a headache the size of a small planet)

Unless anyone knows better?

J

I wouldn't dispute that these were the old equivalences but some of them have now changed in today's usage - or rather, they have now been rounded off to more easily convert to metric (as in the case of the kwien, rounded up to 1,500kg these days), or even imperial (as in the case of the nieu, which I also know for certain is now converted as 1", equivalent to 25.4mm if my memory serves me right).

Rgds

Khonwan