スイートティー
suīto tī
In Japanese, "sweet tea" is said as スイートティー (suīto tī).
The term refers to black tea that has been sweetened with sugar. While the loanword スイートティー is used, the more descriptive and common way to refer to sweet black tea is 甘い紅茶 (amai kōcha).
Which one should you use?
There are two ways to express this concept: the katakana loanword スイートティー and the descriptive phrase 甘い紅茶.
How do you pronounce it?
suīto tī
Did you know?
- If you order 甘い紅茶 in a traditional Japanese tea house, the staff might be confused because they primarily serve unsweetened green tea. In these settings, 'sweetness' is expected to come from a side of traditional Japanese wagashi sweets rather than the tea itself.
- While 甘い (amai) means 'sweet', the term 甘口 (amakuchi) is used on menus and packaging to denote a sweet flavor profile, which is the opposite of 辛口 (karakuchi) or 'dry'.
- The word for tea 茶 (cha) is a loanword from Chinese that entered Japanese centuries ago. This is why Japanese tea terms often sound similar to Chinese, even when they use English loanwords like スイートティー for modern variations.
Example conversation
Misaki and Hiroto are ordering drinks at a cafe.
- 美咲 Misaki大翔くんは何を飲みますか？Hiroto-kun wa nani o nomimasu ka?What will you drink, Hiroto?
- 大翔 Hiroto僕はスイートティーにします。Boku wa suīto tī ni shimasu.I'll have a sweet tea.
- 美咲 Misakiいいですね。私もそれにします。Ii desu ne. Watashi mo sore ni shimasu.That sounds good. I'll have that too.
- 大翔 Hirotoじゃあ、二つ注文しよう。Jaa, futatsu chūmon shiyō.Then, let's order two.
