Sweet in Different Languages
Discover 'Sweet' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Sweet
Afrikaans soet | ||
Albanian e embel | ||
Amharic ጣፋጭ | ||
Arabic حلو | ||
Armenian քաղցր | ||
Assamese মিঠা | ||
Aymara muxsa | ||
Azerbaijani şirin | ||
Bambara bɔnbɔn | ||
Basque gozoa | ||
Belarusian салодкі | ||
Bengali মিষ্টি | ||
Bhojpuri मीठ | ||
Bosnian slatko | ||
Bulgarian сладка | ||
Catalan dolça | ||
Cebuano matam-is | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 甜 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 甜 | ||
Corsican dolce | ||
Croatian slatko | ||
Czech bonbón | ||
Danish sød | ||
Dhivehi ފޮނި | ||
Dogri मिट्ठा | ||
Dutch zoet | ||
English sweet | ||
Esperanto dolĉa | ||
Estonian magus | ||
Ewe vivi | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) matamis | ||
Finnish makea | ||
French sucré | ||
Frisian swiet | ||
Galician doce | ||
Georgian ტკბილი | ||
German süss | ||
Greek γλυκός | ||
Guarani he'ẽ | ||
Gujarati મીઠી | ||
Haitian Creole dous | ||
Hausa mai dadi | ||
Hawaiian ʻono | ||
Hebrew מתוק | ||
Hindi मिठाई | ||
Hmong qab zib | ||
Hungarian édes | ||
Icelandic sætur | ||
Igbo ụtọ | ||
Ilocano nasam-it | ||
Indonesian manis | ||
Irish milis | ||
Italian dolce | ||
Japanese 甘い | ||
Javanese manis | ||
Kannada ಸಿಹಿ | ||
Kazakh тәтті | ||
Khmer ផ្អែម | ||
Kinyarwanda biryoshye | ||
Konkani गोड | ||
Korean 단 | ||
Krio swit | ||
Kurdish şêrîn | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) شیرین | ||
Kyrgyz таттуу | ||
Lao ຫວານ | ||
Latin dulcis | ||
Latvian salds | ||
Lingala elengi | ||
Lithuanian saldus | ||
Luganda okuwooma | ||
Luxembourgish séiss | ||
Macedonian слатка | ||
Maithili मीठ | ||
Malagasy hanitra | ||
Malay manis | ||
Malayalam മധുരം | ||
Maltese ħelu | ||
Maori reka | ||
Marathi गोड | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯊꯨꯝꯕ | ||
Mizo thlum | ||
Mongolian сайхан | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ချိုမြိန် | ||
Nepali प्यारो | ||
Norwegian søt | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) lokoma | ||
Odia (Oriya) ମିଠା | ||
Oromo mi'aawaa | ||
Pashto خوږ | ||
Persian شیرین | ||
Polish słodkie | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) doce | ||
Punjabi ਮਿੱਠਾ | ||
Quechua miski | ||
Romanian dulce | ||
Russian милая | ||
Samoan suamalie | ||
Sanskrit मधुरम् | ||
Scots Gaelic milis | ||
Sepedi bose | ||
Serbian слатко | ||
Sesotho monate | ||
Shona zvinotapira | ||
Sindhi مٺو | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) මිහිරි | ||
Slovak sladký | ||
Slovenian sladko | ||
Somali macaan | ||
Spanish dulce | ||
Sundanese amis | ||
Swahili tamu | ||
Swedish ljuv | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) matamis | ||
Tajik ширин | ||
Tamil இனிப்பு | ||
Tatar татлы | ||
Telugu తీపి | ||
Thai หวาน | ||
Tigrinya ጥዑም | ||
Tsonga nyanganya | ||
Turkish tatlı | ||
Turkmen süýji | ||
Twi (Akan) dɛ | ||
Ukrainian солодкий | ||
Urdu میٹھا | ||
Uyghur تاتلىق | ||
Uzbek shirin | ||
Vietnamese ngọt | ||
Welsh melys | ||
Xhosa iswiti | ||
Yiddish זיס | ||
Yoruba dun | ||
Zulu mnandi |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | Afrikaans "soet" is probably related to the Old English "swēte", meaning "delightful", though it can also mean "fresh water" in some Dutch dialects. |
| Albanian | The word "e embel" in Albanian, meaning "sweet" or "sweetie", also has the alternate meaning of "cute" or "lovely" when used to describe a person. |
| Amharic | The word "ጣፋጭ" in Amharic also means "cute" or "pretty" when describing people or things. |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "حلو" also means "pretty" or "beautiful". |
| Armenian | The word "քաղցր" (sweet) in Armenian is also used to describe something pleasant or agreeable. |
| Azerbaijani | The word "şirin" in Azerbaijani also has the alternate meaning of "pretty" or "beautiful". |
| Basque | The Basque word "gozoa" is related to the Latin "dulcis" and Spanish "dulce," meaning "sweet." |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word "салодкі" ("sweet") is derived from the Proto-Slavic root *sladъkъ, which also meant "sweet" and is the ancestor of the same word in many other Slavic languages. |
| Bengali | The Bengali word "মিষ্টি" can also refer to sweets, a type of dessert popular in the region. |
| Bosnian | The word 'slatko' is also used to describe a type of thick, fruit preserves. |
| Bulgarian | The word "сладка" can also mean "a dessert" or "a jam" in Bulgarian. |
| Catalan | The word "dolça" originated from a Latin word "dulcis" meaning sweet in English, but the word in Catalan can also mean gentle or kind. |
| Cebuano | The word "matam-is" is also used to describe anything pleasant, such as a good smell or sound. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 甜 originally referred to the sweetness of fruit and honey, but it has since expanded to include other sweet flavors, such as those of candy and desserts. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | "甜" (sweet) also refers to the 30th lunar mansion or one's home village. |
| Corsican | Corsican 'dolce' is cognate with the Italian 'dolce' (sweet), which comes from the Latin 'dulcis'. However, 'dolce' in Corsican can also mean 'tender', 'soft', or 'gentle'. |
| Croatian | Despite also meaning 'cute' in colloquial speech, 'slatko' originates from the Proto-Slavic word for 'honey' |
| Czech | "Bonbón" is a loanword from French and refers to small pieces of candy, but can also be used figuratively to describe something sweet or charming. |
| Danish | Sød in Danish also means "nice" or "kind," which is related to its original meaning of "delicious" because food was scarce in the past. |
| Dutch | The word 'zoet' also means 'pretty' or 'pleasant' in Dutch, which can be seen in the phrase 'zoete muziek' (sweet music). |
| Esperanto | Dolĉa also refers to the soft sound between consonants. |
| Estonian | The Estonian word “magus” has no alternate meanings |
| Finnish | The word "makea" in Finnish has also been used to refer to a kind of mead drunk in the Iron Age. |
| French | The French word "sucré" derives from a Latin root meaning either "sugar" or "dried fruit". |
| Frisian | Frisian "swiet" is a cognate of "sweet" and "suave" in other Germanic languages and is derived from the Proto-Germanic word *swōtiz, meaning "sweet". |
| Galician | Galician "doce" comes from the Latin "dulcis," meaning "sweet," but can also mean "soft" or "gentle." |
| Georgian | The word 'ტკბილი' ('sweet') can also refer to a pleasant or enjoyable experience. |
| German | In addition to meaning “sweet,” “Süss” can also refer to what is sugary or overly sentimental. |
| Greek | In Ancient Greek, "γλυκός" meant "delightful" or "charming", but it could also refer to the "fresh water" of a spring. |
| Gujarati | The word "મીઠી" can also mean "sweetheart" or "a beautiful woman." |
| Haitian Creole | The word 'dous' likely originates from the French 'doux' which also means 'sweet', or alternatively, derives from the Arawakan 'dus,' meaning 'honey'. |
| Hausa | The Hausa term `mai dadi` signifies sweetness but also denotes 'the provider of comfort' and `motherly affection`. |
| Hawaiian | 'Ono also means 'delicious' |
| Hebrew | "מתוק" can also refer to a handsome man, a cute animal or a good friend. |
| Hindi | The word 'मिठाई' in Hindi derives from Sanskrit 'madhura,' meaning 'sweet,' and can also refer to confectionery, dessert, or a sweet dish. |
| Hmong | "Qab zib" is a Hmong word that originally meant "good to eat" but has since come to mean "sweet". |
| Hungarian | The word "édes" is also the name of a popular Hungarian folk dance that is traditionally performed at weddings. |
| Icelandic | Sætur also means 'tame' or 'domesticated', and originally referred to the pleasantness of a familiar place or person. |
| Igbo | Ụtọ (Igbo) can refer to natural or artificial sweeteners, or it can be figurative to mean 'pleasing' (in the senses of being enjoyable, satisfying, or even beautiful or handsome). |
| Indonesian | "Manis" can also mean "handsome" in Indonesian, and its root comes from the Sanskrit word "madhu" which means "honey". |
| Irish | The Irish word “milis” can derive from the Proto-Indo-European root “*meld-“ (“honey, sweet”). |
| Italian | Dolce also means 'tender,' 'soft,' or 'delicate' when it refers to people, or 'gentle' or 'mellow' when referring to breezes, weather, etc. |
| Japanese | 甘い can also mean "naive" or "simple". |
| Javanese | The word "manis" in Javanese has its roots in the Proto-Austronesian word "*manis", which also means "sweet". |
| Kannada | The Kannada word 'ಸಿಹಿ' ('sweet') is also used to describe 'pleasant' or 'agreeable' experiences |
| Kazakh | In Kazakh, 'тәтті' can also refer to a traditional fermented dairy drink or a dessert made from dough. |
| Khmer | The Khmer word "ផ្អែម" can also mean "calm", "pleasant", or "comfortable". |
| Korean | The Middle Korean word for sweet, 달, is thought to be derived from the sound of the character 甜 in Classical Chinese, which also means "sweet." |
| Kurdish | It also refers to someone who is lovely, amiable, or agreeable. |
| Kyrgyz | The word 'таттуу' in Kyrgyz also means 'nice' or 'kind'. |
| Lao | The word “ຫວານ” (sweet) in Lao is also used to describe something that is beautiful or pleasing. |
| Latin | The Latin word "dulcis" also means "charming" and is related to "dulcedo" ("delight") and "indulgeo" ("to indulge"). |
| Latvian | The word "salds" in Latvian is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *s(w)ed- meaning "sweet". It is cognate with the words "sweet" in English, "suus" in Latin, and "γλυκύς" (glykys) in Greek. |
| Lithuanian | Lithuanian "saldus" is related to Old Prussian "saldis" and Latin "dulcis". |
| Luxembourgish | In Luxembourgish, the word "séiss" originates from the Old High German word "suazi" and its meaning extends to "nice" and "kind". |
| Macedonian | The Macedonian word "слатка" is also used to mean "candy". |
| Malagasy | The word "hanitra" in Malagasy originates from the Arabic word "hanîth", meaning "soft" or "tender". |
| Malay | In old Malay language, "manis" also means beautiful or pleasing. |
| Malayalam | In Sanskrit, the word "madhura" has additional meanings, including "agreeable, pleasing, lovely" and "honeyed, delightful in speech." |
| Maltese | The Maltese word "ħelu" is derived from the Arabic word "حلو" (ḥalw) meaning "sweet" or "nice". |
| Maori | The word 'reka' in Maori can also refer to a pleasant feeling or sensation. |
| Marathi | The Marathi word "गोड" (sweet) is cognate with the Sanskrit word "गुरु" (heavy), reflecting the connection between sweetness and weight in many cultures. |
| Mongolian | The Mongolian word 'сайхан', meaning 'sweet', also has alternate meanings such as 'beautiful' and 'pleasant'. |
| Nepali | "प्यारो" means "sweet" in Nepali, and is derived from the Sanskrit word "प्रिय" (priya), meaning "dear" or "beloved". |
| Norwegian | Its etymology is tied to the word "sød", meaning "peaceful" or "placid". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "lokoma" in Nyanja can also refer to a type of sweet potato. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "خوږ" ("sweet") is related to the Persian word "خوشی" ("happiness") and the Sanskrit word "स्वाद" ("savor"). |
| Persian | "شیرین" (shīrīn) is derived from Old Persian "çirya-" meaning "pleasant, agreeable" and related to Sanskrit "suryā-" meaning "sweet, kind |
| Polish | Słodkie can also mean "nice" and "pretty" in the contemporary Polish language. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word 'doce' originates from the Latin 'dulcis' and can also mean 'mild' or 'gentle'. |
| Punjabi | The word 'ਮਿੱਠਾ' can also refer to pleasant sounds or speech, or to a person who is kind and gentle. |
| Romanian | Dulce is derived from the Latin dulcis, meaning sweet, and can also refer to a type of Romanian folk song or a traditional Romanian dessert. |
| Russian | In Russian, помиловать means "to have mercy" or "to pardon," while милый means "cute" or "sweet." |
| Samoan | The word "suamalie" can also refer to a person who is kind and gentle. |
| Scots Gaelic | The word "milis" in Scots Gaelic also means "pleasant" or "kind". |
| Serbian | In Serbian, 'слатко' can also refer to a type of fruit preserve made by boiling fruit in sugar syrup. |
| Sesotho | The word "monate" can also refer to a type of sugar or candy in Sesotho. |
| Shona | The word "zvinotapira" in Shona is derived from the word "tapira," meaning "to taste". It is also used to describe something that is pleasant or enjoyable. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "مٺو" can also mean "beautiful" or "handsome". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "මිහිරි" (mihiri) shares the same root with the Sanskrit word "madhura" (sweet), also related to the Latin word "mel" (honey). |
| Slovak | The word "sladký" in Slovak is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "sladъkъ", which also means "sweet". |
| Slovenian | The word "sladko" derives from the Proto-Slavic word "*slъdъkъ", meaning "sweet" or "tasty". |
| Somali | "Macaan" in Somali can also refer to a type of candy or a sweet drink. |
| Spanish | In some Latin American countries, "dulce" can also refer to a type of preserves or jam made with fruits. |
| Sundanese | "Amis" is also used as a suffix to form the superlative form of adjectives, e.g. "alus amis" (very fine). |
| Swahili | The word "tamu" in Swahili can also refer to "a guest" or "a respected person". |
| Swedish | The word "ljuv" comes from the Old Norse word "ljúfr", meaning "dear" or "pleasant." |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Matamis" can also be used figuratively to describe the quality of a relationship or a conversation. |
| Tajik | "Shirin" also means "apple" in Tajik, a connection found in other Persian languages, as well as in Arabic and Hebrew. |
| Tamil | "இனிப்பு" (sweet) is derived from the root "இன்" (sweet, pleasant, agreeable), and also means "happiness, delight, pleasure". |
| Telugu | "తీపి" (sweet) can also refer to a pleasant or agreeable sensation. |
| Thai | The Thai word "หวาน" (sweet) also means "ripe" or "mature" in some contexts. |
| Turkish | The word 'tatlı' also means 'dessert' in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | The word "солодкий" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *swād-, which also gives us the English word "sweet". |
| Urdu | The word "miṭhā" can also refer to a "confectionery" or "sweetmeat" in Urdu. |
| Uzbek | Uzbek shirin also means "good" or "beautiful" from the Persian word "shirin" "pleasant". |
| Vietnamese | The word |
| Welsh | The word "melys" in Welsh also has the secondary meaning of "joyful" or "pleasant". |
| Xhosa | "Iswiti" shares a root with "isu" (honey), indicating a sweet taste. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word זיס ('zis') can also mean 'nice', 'pretty', or 'good'. |
| Yoruba | The word "dun" in Yoruba also refers to a type of bird known for its melodious song, further emphasizing its association with sweetness and pleasantness. |
| Zulu | The Zulu word "mnandi" can also mean "beautiful" or "handsome." |
| English | The word "sweet" originated in the Old English word "swēte," meaning "sweet, pleasant, agreeable," and is related to the Dutch word "zoet" and the German word "süß." |