tael

T1A1E1L1
/teɪl/

noun

Any of several units of measure used in China and elsewhere in eastern Asia, approximately 40 grams, and metricated in Mainland China as exactly 50 grams.

OriginPortuguese tael ← Malay tahil →
RareScrabble 4
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Meanings

nountael (plural taels)

plural taels · alternative tahil

  1. Any of several units of measure used in China and elsewhere in eastern Asia, approximately 40 grams, and metricated in Mainland China as exactly 50 grams.
  2. Any of several monetary units equal to the equivalent weight in silver.
  3. Hong KongLeung, a traditional unit of weight, in modern usage legally defined as 1/16 of a catty or kan (斤) or 0.0377993638 kilograms

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
liang

Origin

  1. Malaytahil
  2. Portuguesetael
  3. Englishtael

From Portuguese tael, from Malay tahil. Doublet of tahil.

More words from Portuguese, Malay

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 兩 /两
  • 兩 /两 (liǎng)any of various related East Asian units of weight
French tael
  • taelany of various related East Asian units of weight
Indonesian tahil
  • tahilany of various related East Asian units of weight
Italian tael
  • taelany of various related East Asian units of weight
Japanese 両
  • 両 (ryō)any of various related East Asian units of weight
Korean 냥
  • 냥 (nyang)any of various related East Asian units of weight
Malay tahil
  • tahilany of various related East Asian units of weight
Portuguese tael
  • taelany of various related East Asian units of weight
Spanish tael
  • taelany of various related East Asian units of weight
Thai ตำลึง
  • ตำลึง (dtam-lʉng)any of various related East Asian units of weight
Vietnamese lạng
  • lạngany of various related East Asian units of weight

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with tael

emailmailretailscaledetailfailtrailthumbnailtailtaledalejailyalepalegalesailavailbailvalealeGailhalehailvail
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

tailtaletell (fell-fail merger)

Anagrams

latetaletealEtalEltatelaleat
Cite this entry
APA

tael. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tael

MLA

“tael.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tael. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tael,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tael.

Source: tael on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.