Uses the modern mainland China value. Regional or historical values may differ.
01 /Dou to liters converter formula
1 modern dou = 10 sheng = 10 liters = 2.642 US gallons.
2 dou = 20 L = about 5.283 US gallons.
02 /Common conversion chart
| Dou | Dou | Liters | Milliliters | US gallons |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 斗 | 1 斗 | 10 L | 10,000 ml | 2.642 gal |
| 2 斗 | 2 斗 | 20 L | 20,000 ml | 5.283 gal |
| 3 斗 | 3 斗 | 30 L | 30,000 ml | 7.925 gal |
| 5 斗 | 5 斗 | 50 L | 50,000 ml | 13.209 gal |
| 10 斗 | 10 斗 | 100 L | 100,000 ml | 26.417 gal |
03 /Usage notes
Traditional capacity
Dou is common in older writing and grain-measure contexts.
Modern metric relation
This page uses 1 dou = 10 liters.
Historical caution
Classical values may vary by period and context.
04 /Modern Chinese unit context
Volume units such as sheng and dou can appear in older food, grain or market contexts. Use modern values for quick reading and check the source when the material is historical.
Use this page as a quick lookup, then keep the original Chinese unit beside the converted number when accuracy matters. That is especially important for pricing, schoolwork, land records, shipping documents, recipes, medicine, historical writing or any source where the unit may be part of a larger standard.
For the broader table and source caveats, read the Chinese units conversion chart.