Ropani to Sq Ft Converter (Aana, Bigha, Kattha)

Ropani to sq ft: the short answer

1 ropani = 5,476 square feet, which is about 508.74 square metres. A ropani is split into 16 aana, so 1 aana = 342.25 sq ft. Those two numbers cover most land and house deals in Kathmandu Valley and the hill districts. In the Terai, land is counted in bigha, kattha and dhur instead, and 1 bigha = 72,900 sq ft while 1 kattha = 3,645 sq ft.

Nepal uses two traditional systems side by side. The hill system (ropani, aana, paisa, daam) is used in Kathmandu, Pokhara and most hill and mountain districts. The Terai system (bigha, kattha, dhur) is used on the southern plains, in cities such as Biratnagar, Birgunj, Janakpur, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj. Some districts that straddle both, such as Chitwan or Makwanpur, may have plots recorded in either system, so always check which one your document uses.

Nepal land measurement conversion table

These are the standard values used by banks, valuers and land converters across Nepal. Square metre figures use the exact international foot (1 sq ft = 0.09290304 m²).

A handy way to remember the hill units: a ropani works out to a square of 74 ft × 74 ft, and an aana to a square of 18.5 ft × 18.5 ft. In the Terai, a bigha equals a square of 270 ft × 270 ft and a dhur a square of 13.5 ft × 13.5 ft. Real plots are rarely square, of course; these are just ways to picture the size.

Hill units against Terai units

Metric and imperial equivalents

Aana and ropani to sq ft quick lookup

Most urban plots in Kathmandu Valley are sold in aana. Here are common sizes:

For the Terai: 1 kattha is 3,645 sq ft, 2 kattha is 7,290 sq ft, 5 kattha is 18,225 sq ft, 10 kattha (half a bigha) is 36,450 sq ft, and 5 dhur is 911.25 sq ft.

Legal basis: hectares, square metres and old units

Ropani and bigha are customary units. The law that governs land measurement in Nepal is the Land (Survey and Measurement) Act, 2019 (1963). Section 4(1) of the Act makes the metric system the basis for land area: one hectare equals 10,000 square metres, and registration records are to show area in hectares and square metres. Section 4(2) directs the Land Revenue Office to convert land recorded in bigaha (bigha) or ropani into hectares and square metres.

In practice the change is gradual. Many lalpurja (land ownership certificates) and cadastral maps still show ropani-aana-paisa-daam or bigha-kattha-dhur, while newer records and digital land services show square metres alongside. Land administration is handled by the Department of Land Management and Archive (DoLMA) and its Land Revenue Offices, and mapping by the Survey Department and its Survey Offices. Note that the Act itself does not print a conversion table; the values on this page are the established standards that those offices, banks and valuers use, cross-checked against several published converters.

How to convert ropani to sq ft and back

The easiest method is to bring everything down to the smallest unit, then multiply by its size. In the hill system the smallest unit is the daam:

The figure 21.390625 is simply 5,476 ÷ 256. For the Terai, do the same with the dhur:

To go the other way, from square feet to ropani-aana-paisa-daam, divide by 21.390625 to get total daam, then peel off whole units: divide by 256 for ropani, take the remainder and divide by 16 for aana, divide the next remainder by 4 for paisa, and what is left is daam. Square metres to square feet is × 10.7639, square feet to acres is ÷ 43,560, and square feet to hectares is ÷ 107,639.1.

Worked examples

Example 1: 2 ropani 5 aana 2 paisa 1 daam to sq ft

So a lalpurja reading 2-5-2-1 describes about 12,856 sq ft, or roughly 0.295 acre.

Example 2: 2 kattha 10 dhur into the hill system

Total dhur = 2 × 20 + 10 = 50 dhur. 50 × 182.25 = 9,112.5 sq ft. Now divide by 21.390625 to get 426.004 daam. That is 1 ropani (256), leaving 170.004; 10 aana (160), leaving 10.004; 2 paisa (8), leaving 2.00 daam. The answer is 1 ropani 10 aana 2 paisa 2 daam, the same figure published by independent Nepali converters for this input.

Example 3: 2,000 sq ft house plot

2,000 ÷ 21.390625 = 93.50 daam. That is 0 ropani, 5 aana (80 daam), 3 paisa (12 daam) and 1.50 daam, so 0-5-3-1.5. In aana alone, 2,000 ÷ 342.25 = 5.84 aana.

Reading area on a lalpurja

Hill-system documents often write area as four numbers separated by dashes, in the order ropani-aana-paisa-daam. “0-4-2-0” means 0 ropani, 4 aana, 2 paisa and 0 daam, which is 1,540.13 sq ft. Terai documents use three numbers in the order bigha-kattha-dhur, so “1-2-5” is 1 bigha, 2 kattha and 5 dhur, which is 81,101.25 sq ft. Enter each number in its own box in the converter above.

Daam and dhur can appear with decimals, such as 1.5 daam or 7.25 dhur. That is normal; surveyed areas rarely land exactly on a whole unit. The converter accepts decimals in every box.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up kattha and aana. They sound like similar small units, but a kattha (3,645 sq ft) is more than ten times an aana (342.25 sq ft).
• Treating 1 bigha as 2,000 m². Some online guides use rounded or foreign bigha sizes. Nepal's standard bigha is 72,900 sq ft, or about 6,772.63 m². The Indian and Bangladeshi bigha are different sizes, so a converter built for those countries will not give the right answer for Nepal.
• Reading 2-5-2-1 as 2.5 ropani. The numbers are separate units, not decimals. 2-5-2-1 is 2 ropani plus 5/16 of a ropani plus the small units, which is about 2.35 ropani.
• Using a rounded square metre value for big plots. 508.72 and 508.74 m² per ropani differ by only 0.02, but over 50 ropani that is a full square metre. For official work, use the square metre figure in the record.
• Comparing prices in different units. A rate per aana and a rate per kattha are not comparable until you convert both to the same unit, such as price per square foot.

Converting land prices between units

Land rates in Kathmandu are usually quoted per aana, rates in Terai towns per kattha or dhur, and rates for agricultural land per bigha or ropani. To compare them:

• Per aana to per ropani: multiply by 16. NPR 25 lakh per aana is NPR 4 crore per ropani.
• Per aana to per sq ft: divide by 342.25. NPR 25 lakh per aana is about NPR 7,305 per sq ft.
• Per kattha to per aana: divide by 10.65. NPR 30 lakh per kattha is about NPR 2.82 lakh per aana.
• Per dhur to per kattha: multiply by 20.

The optional rate box in the converter does this for you: pick the unit the price is quoted in and it shows the total value of the area you entered. It does not include registration fees, capital gains tax or local charges, which vary by municipality and are set separately.

Who uses which system

The ropani system is standard in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, Pokhara, and the hill and mountain districts. The bigha system is standard across the Terai districts from Jhapa in the east to Kanchanpur in the west. Government records, bank valuations and newer surveys increasingly add square metres, which is the single unit recognised by the Land (Survey and Measurement) Act. If you are buying from abroad or comparing with property elsewhere, convert to square metres or square feet first.

This converter suits buyers, sellers, migrant workers checking family land, engineers estimating plot coverage, and anyone reading a lalpurja. It is not a substitute for a field survey. Boundaries, road setbacks and the area that can actually be built on are set by the municipality's building bylaws, and only a licensed surveyor or the Survey Office can confirm the measured area of a plot.

Ropani to sq ft FAQs

Units verified: October 2026. Values are the standard Nepali land units used by land offices, banks and valuers. This tool gives an estimate and is not legal, survey or tax advice.

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