adjective HSK 2
sweet · pleasant · sound (sleep)
Meaning
甜 describes the sweet taste of sugar, honey, or fruit. It can also describe pleasant feelings, sweet dreams, or sound sleep. The character combines 舌 (tongue) and 甘 (sweet), literally suggesting sweetness on the tongue.
Usage
Commonly used to describe food and drinks with a sweet taste. Can also describe figurative sweetness like a happy smile (甜美的笑容) or deep sleep (睡得很甜). Often paired with taste-related words or emotional descriptors.
Examples
- 01这个西瓜很甜。.This watermelon is very sweet.
- 02宝宝睡得真甜。.The baby is sleeping so soundly.
Common collocations
- 甜食sweet food, dessert
- 甜品dessert
- 甜美sweet and beautiful
- 睡得很甜to sleep soundly
Antonyms
Origin
The character 甜 is a semantic-phonetic compound combining 舌 (shé, tongue) as the semantic component and 甘 (gān, sweet) as the phonetic component, literally representing sweetness perceived by the tongue.