甜
sweet
tián
What does 甜 mean?
甜 (tián) is the adjective for the taste 'sweet' — sugar, honey, ripe fruit, candy, dessert. Beyond food, Chinese uses 甜 figuratively for pleasant sounds and faces: 嗓音很甜 ('a sweet voice') and 笑得很甜 ('to smile sweetly') are completely natural and not the cliche they would be in English. 甜 also extends to romantic relationships and life satisfaction — 日子过得很甜 ('life is sweet') or describing a couple as 很甜 ('lovey-dovey, cute together').
Note that 'sweet' meaning 'kind' in English (a sweet person = nice) does NOT map to 甜; use 善良 or 贴心 for that. The opposite tastes are 苦 (bitter), 酸 (sour), 辣 (spicy), 咸 (salty).
Character breakdown
sweet (taste); pleasant
Memory hook: 舌 (tongue) + 甘 (sweet/agreeable) — the tongue tasting something agreeable.
Example sentences
这个西瓜很甜。
Zhè ge xīguā hěn tián.
This watermelon is very sweet.
neutral
我不喜欢吃太甜的东西。
Wǒ bù xǐhuan chī tài tián de dōngxi.
I don't like eating things that are too sweet.
spoken
她的声音很甜。
Tā de shēngyīn hěn tián.
Her voice is very sweet.
neutral
你们俩看起来真甜。
Nǐmen liǎ kànqǐlai zhēn tián.
You two look so cute together.
spoken
Common phrases with 甜
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甜 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
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FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
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