сла́дкий
sládkijmasculine
The English word "sweet" is translated into Russian as сла́дкий (sládkij).
The primary use of this term is to describe something that has a pleasant taste. If you are referring to a sugary confection, you might instead use nouns like конфе́та, ледене́ц or сласть. While сла́дкий describes the taste, the word милый is used when you want to say someone or something is sweet, cute or darling.
Meaning: having a pleasant taste (adj)
Which one should you use?
The adjective сла́дкий changes based on the gender and number of the noun it describes. The form сла́дкий is masculine, while сла́дкая is feminine, сла́дкое is neuter and сла́дкие is plural. Additionally, the colloquial form сладенький is used to describe something as sweet in an endearing way.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
As an adjective, the word must agree with the noun it modifies: use сла́дкий for masculine nouns, сла́дкая for feminine nouns, сла́дкое for neuter nouns and сла́дкие for plural nouns.
How do you pronounce it?
sládkij
Did you know?
- While 'sweet' in English can describe a pleasant smell, using сладкий for an aroma in Russian often implies a scent that is heavy, cloying, or almost suffocatingly sugary.
- While English speakers use 'sweet' to describe a kind person, using сла́дкий for a person in Russian can imply they are physically attractive or 'delicious' in a romantic sense.
- In Russian music and poetry, the term сладкоголосый is a single compound word used to describe someone with a 'sweet-voiced' or melodic tone, rather than using a phrase.
Examples in context
- Это сладкое пирожное просто великолепно!This sweet pastry is simply marvelous!
- Этот торт слишком приторный для меня.This cake is too sweet for me.
- Ты такой сладенький!You are so sweet!
Example conversation
Ekaterina and Andrey are eating dessert together.
- Екатерина EkaterinaАндрей, попробуй этот торт.Andrey, poprobuy etot tort.Andrey, try this cake.
- Андрей AndreyСпасибо, он очень сла́дкий.Spasibo, on ochen' sladkiy.Thanks, it is very sweet.
- Екатерина EkaterinaТебе нравится такой вкус?Tebe nravitsya takoy vkus?Do you like this taste?
- Андрей AndreyДа, я очень люблю сладкое.Da, ya ochen' lyublyu sladkoye.Yes, I love sweet things very much.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sweet” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
