How land is measured in Nepal: ropani, aana, bigha and kattha
Two systems are in daily use, one in the hills and one in the Terai. Here is how they fit together, and how to compare plots measured in different units.
Anyone looking at land in Nepal runs into two different systems of measurement. Which one you meet depends on where the land is.
In the hills and the Kathmandu Valley
Land here is measured in ropani, and a ropani is divided into sixteen aana. Smaller plots are quoted in aana alone: a typical house plot in the Valley might be four to eight aana.
- 1 ropani = 16 aana = 5,476 sq ft
- 1 aana = 4 paisa = 342.25 sq ft
- 1 paisa = 4 daam = 85.56 sq ft
- 1 daam = 21.39 sq ft
You will often see an area written as a string of four numbers, such as 0-8-2-0. That is ropani-aana-paisa-daam, so it reads as eight aana and two paisa.
In the Terai
The Terai uses bigha, divided into twenty kattha, and a kattha into twenty dhur.
- 1 bigha = 20 kattha = 72,900 sq ft
- 1 kattha = 20 dhur = 3,645 sq ft
- 1 dhur = 182.25 sq ft
A bigha is a good deal larger than a ropani: one bigha is about 13.3 ropani.
Comparing plots across systems
The simplest way to compare is to put both areas into square feet. A four aana plot in Kathmandu is 1,369 sq ft. A one kattha plot in Chitwan is 3,645 sq ft, so it is more than twice the size, even though the number in front of it is smaller.
Every listing on this site stores its area in square feet and shows it in the unit the property is sold in, so you can compare a plot in Budhanilkantha with one in Birtamod without doing the arithmetic yourself. If you want to check a number from elsewhere, the land unit converter will do it.
A note on the paperwork
The area written on the ownership certificate is the one that matters legally. If a plot has been divided, or part of it has been taken for a road, the certificate and the ground can disagree. Ask to see the certificate and the survey map, and if the numbers matter to your decision, have the plot measured by a surveyor before you pay.
