How do you say "sugar" in Japanese?

砂糖

satou

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "sugar" is 砂糖 (satou).

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Pronunciation

Satou has a long final vowel, 'sa-toh', with the stress settling gently on that stretched second syllable.

Writing and usage

砂糖 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

彼女は紅茶に砂糖をかき混ぜた。

kanojo ha koucha ni satou wokaki maze ta.

She stirred sugar into her tea.

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How to remember 砂糖

Satou rhymes with 'so though' -- as sweet as sugar is, say 'sa-toh' like agreeing warmly, 'so, though, add more sugar.'

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 砂糖

How do you pronounce 砂糖?

Satou has a long final vowel, 'sa-toh', with the stress settling gently on that stretched second syllable.

Is 砂糖 formal or casual?

砂糖 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 砂糖 written in Japanese?

砂糖 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as satou.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Sugar" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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