甜
tim⁴
The Cantonese word for 'sweet' is 甜 (tim⁴).
The adjective 甜 is primarily used to describe a pleasant, sweet taste. It can also be used metaphorically to describe a person's voice or words as being 'sweet' or 'honeyed'.
Meaning: having a pleasant taste (adj)
Which one should you use?
While 甜 refers to the taste of sweetness, it is distinct from the noun 糖 which refers to the substance itself.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
tim⁴
Did you know?
- When describing a romantic couple who are very affectionate in public, Cantonese speakers use the phrase 甜膩, which literally means 'sweet and greasy'.
- In Cantonese, calling a woman's voice 甜 is a common compliment, but applying the same word to a man can subtly imply he lacks masculinity.
- A common Cantonese expression for being fooled by flattery is 被甜到, implying the person was 'sweetened' into believing something false.
Examples in context
- 佢試個蛋糕夠唔夠甜。She tasted the cake to see if it was sweet enough.This sentence uses 甜 to check the sweetness level of a cake.Tatoeba #750797 by kaenif, translation #313054 by CK
- 今日食咗啲好 甜 嘅蛋糕，好開心!I had a very sweet cake today, and I feel really happy!
- 呢杯奶茶好 甜到爆 ！This cup of milk tea is extremely sweet!
- 呢個蛋塔好 好甜 ！This egg tart is very sweet!
- 呢支飲品係好 甜口 嘅！This drink is sweet-tasting!
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
曉彤 and 子健 are tasting a dessert at a cafe.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung呢塊蛋糕好甜呀。ni kwai dan gou hou tim aaThis piece of cake is very sweet.
- 子健 Tsz Kin係唔係太甜？hai m hai taai timIs it too sweet?
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung唔係，啱啱好甜。m hai, ngaam ngaam hou timNo, it is just the right amount of sweetness.
- 子健 Tsz Kin咁就好，我鍾意甜嘢。gam zau hou, ngo zung ji tim jeThat's good, I like sweet things.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sweet” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
