Understanding the Ping (坪)
Written and last checked against the sources below on .
The ping is the property unit of Taiwan — about 3.3058 m², the floor area of two tatami mats. Every Taiwanese apartment listing, price-per-area figure and construction quote uses it.
Two tatami mats, formalised
The ping is the Taiwanese reading of the Japanese tsubo, introduced during the Japanese colonial administration and retained after 1945. It is defined as a square ken — six shaku by six shaku — giving (400/121) m², or 3.305785 m².
Because the shaku is exactly 10/33 m, the ping is an exact rational quantity rather than a rounded one. A hundred ping is 330.58 m²; three hundred ping is roughly a tenth of a hectare, which is the scale at which Taiwanese land parcels are discussed.
Taiwan's property market runs on it
Apartment sizes, office leases and construction contracts in Taiwan are all quoted in ping, and price-per-ping is the headline metric in property reporting exactly as price-per-square-foot is in Hong Kong or price-per-square-metre in Europe. Converting a Taipei price-per-ping to price-per-square-metre means dividing by 3.3058.
Taiwanese listings distinguish registered area categories — the main building, attached structures such as balconies, and the apportioned share of common areas. A headline ping figure often includes all three, so the usable interior area can be substantially smaller than the number advertised. The unit is exact; what it is counting is the negotiable part.
Relatives across the region
Japan uses the identical tsubo of 3.3058 m² for the same purpose, and Japanese land listings quote both tsubo and square metres. Korea's pyeong is the same size and was similarly inherited, though Korea legally banned its use in official transactions in 2007 — it persists in conversation and in informal listings.
The jō, or tatami, is half a ping and is the unit Japanese rooms are described in. A six-mat room is three tsubo, about 9.9 m² — though regional mat sizes vary, so the mat count is a better guide to layout than to exact area.
Converting property figures
Use 3.305785 m² and keep the original ping figure alongside the metric one in any listing or valuation. Taiwanese registry documents are in ping, and a metric-only record cannot be reconciled against them without a round trip.
For price comparisons across markets, convert area and currency separately and state both rates. Compressing a price-per-ping in New Taiwan dollars into a price-per-square-metre in another currency in one step hides two assumptions that move independently.
Taiwanese property and the ping
The ping of about 3.306 square metres is the unit every Taiwanese property transaction is quoted in, from apartment floor area to office rent per ping per month. It is the same unit as the Japanese tsubo, inherited during the colonial period and retained after 1945, and it is defined as thirty-six square shaku.
Taiwanese sale contracts distinguish several ping figures for one apartment: the enclosed area, the shared public area, and the parking space, which are summed into the advertised total. Converting only the headline figure to square metres therefore overstates usable space, sometimes by a quarter or more. The relevant number for a buyer is the enclosed area, and it is a separate line in the contract.
Rent is quoted the same way, per ping per month, and commercial leases in Taipei are compared on that basis rather than on a total. Converting a per-ping rent to a per-square-metre figure for comparison with another market requires dividing by 3.306, and doing it the other way round — a common slip — overstates the rent by an order of magnitude.
Common mistakes to avoid
- A ping figure in a Taiwanese listing often includes common-area apportionment, so usable interior area is smaller than advertised.
- Ping, tsubo and pyeong are the same size (3.3058 m²) but Korea legally banned pyeong for official transactions in 2007.
- A jō (tatami) is half a ping, and regional mat sizes vary — mat counts describe layout better than exact area.
Questions people ask about the Ping (坪)
- How many square metres is one ping?
- About 3.305785 m² — exactly (400/121) m², the area of a square ken, or two tatami mats.
- How do I convert price per ping to price per square metre?
- Divide the price per ping by 3.3058. A listing at NT$1,000,000 per ping is about NT$302,500 per square metre.
- Is the ping the same as the Japanese tsubo?
- Yes — the ping is the Taiwanese reading of the same unit, introduced during the Japanese administration and kept afterwards.
Sources for this section
- Taiwan Ministry of the Interior — land registration area conventions
- Japan Measurement Act (Keiryōhō) — shaku and tsubo definitions
- Korea Ministry of Land — 2007 prohibition of pyeong in official transactions