砂糖
satō[sa̠to̞ː]
In Japanese, the word for sugar is 砂糖 (satō).
砂糖 refers to sucrose from sugar cane or sugar beet used to sweeten food and drink.
Meaning: sucrose from sugar cane or sugar beet used to sweeten food and drink (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of the kanji 砂 (sa), meaning 'sand' and 糖 (tō), meaning 'sugar/glucose'.
How do you pronounce it?
satō
Did you know?
- In some contexts, the kanji 糖 is used in medical terms to describe 'diabetes', known as 糖尿病 (tōnyōbyō), literally 'sugar urine disease'.
- The character 糖 is also used in the word ブドウ糖 (budōtō), which means 'glucose' and literally translates to 'grape sugar'.
- The reading of 砂糖 comes from the Chinese pronunciation of the same characters, a common way for many Japanese food terms to enter the language.
Examples in context
- 砂糖は控えてね。Cut back on sugar.This sentence is useful for advising someone to cut back on 砂糖.Tatoeba #11491125 by small_snow, translation #7697531 by Hybrid
- 砂糖は入れますか。Would you like some sugar?This sentence is useful for asking if someone wants to add 砂糖 to something.Tatoeba #170877 by bunbuku, translation #243603 by CK
- 砂糖は水に溶ける。Sugar dissolves in water.This sentence is useful for stating that 砂糖 dissolves in water.Tatoeba #170881 by small_snow, translation #243599 by CK
- 砂糖は甘味料として利用されます。Sugar is used as a sweetener.
- 130 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hiroto and Misaki are baking a cake together.
- 大翔 Hiroto美咲、砂糖はどこにある？Misaki, satō wa doko ni aru?Misaki, where is the sugar?
- 美咲 Misaki棚の上にありますよ。Tana no ue ni arimasu yo.It's on top of the shelf.
- 大翔 Hirotoあった！砂糖を100グラム入れよう。Atta! Satō o hyaku guramu ireyō.Found it! Let's put in 100 grams of sugar.
- 美咲 Misakiいいですね。お願いね。Ii desu ne. Onegai ne.Sounds good. Please do.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sugar” translations and entries 砂糖, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 砂糖, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
