Ways to say it
| Latin | IPA |
|---|---|
| dulcis | [ˈdʊɫ.kɪs] (Classical Latin, narrow) [ˈdul̠ʲ.t͡ʃis] (narrow) |
| suāvis |
Both words describe a sense of pleasantness, but they are used in different contexts. Use dulcis when you are referring specifically to a pleasant taste or a literal sensory sweetness. Use suāvis when you want to describe something delightful, agreeable or pleasant to the senses in a broader way, such as a sound or a person's manner.
Which one should you use?
dulcis is the preferred choice for literal sweetness in taste, whereas suāvis describes things that are pleasant or delightful to the senses without necessarily being sugary.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form dulcis is used for singular adjectives in the nominative case for masculine, feminine and neuter subjects. To express the idea of 'of the sweet things', you would use the genitive plural form dulcium. If you wish to express that something is very sweet or the sweetest, use the superlative form dulcissimum.
Did you know?
- Sugar was almost unknown to the Romans. They sweetened food with honey and with dēfrutum, a boiled-down grape syrup.
- In Latin, the word suāvis is the direct ancestor of the English word 'suave', though the meaning has shifted from 'sweet' to 'sophisticated'.
- The word dulcis is closely related to the Greek word glukús, which is the root of the English word 'glucose'.
Examples in context
- Hoc libum dulcissimum est.This cake is very sweet.This sentence is useful for describing how sweet a cake is using the form dulcis.Tatoeba #5031843 by alexmarcelo, translation #61169 by jakov
- Vita dulcis est.Life is sweet.This sentence shows how to use dulcis to describe life.Tatoeba #1272392 by alexmarcelo, translation #270580 by CK
- Dulcis valde es.You are very sweet.This sentence demonstrates how to use dulcis to describe a person.Tatoeba #11162853 by carlosalberto, translation #8047047 by Amastan
- Mellis gustus dulcis est.The taste of honey is sweet.
- 3 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Claudia and Marcus are sharing a piece of fruit.
- ClaudiaHic fructus est dulcis.This fruit is sweet.
- MarcusIta vero, est dulcis.Indeed, it is sweet.
- ClaudiaVisne iterum edere?Do you want to eat more?
- MarcusNon iam volo, gratias.I do not want more, thank you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sweet” translations and entries dulcis, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dulcis, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
