Spanish · Food & Drink

"Sweet" in Spanish: dulce

dulce

Say it: DOOL-sehadjective/ˈdul.se/

Sweet is dulce. Like picante, dulce usually stays the same for gender: fruta dulce, postre dulce. As a noun, los dulces means sweets or candy.

Tasting fruit

Este mango está muy dulce.
This mango is very sweet.
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How to pronounce dulce

Say it

DOOL-seh

/ˈdul.se/

DOOL-seh, stress on DOOL. Soft c in dulce sounds like s in Latin America. Dulce has a short "oo", not English "dull".

"Sweet" in Spanish: quick reference

SpanishEnglish
dulcesweet

Taste adjective for food and drink.

muy dulcevery sweet

Strong sugar or ripe-fruit sweetness.

los dulcessweets; candy

Noun plural for candy and sweet treats.

el pan dulcesweet bread

Mexican bakery rolls eaten with coffee.

How to use dulce in real life

  1. 1Tasting fruit

    Este mango está muy dulce.

    This mango is very sweet.

    Muy dulce praises ripe fruit sugar.

  2. 2Ordering dessert

    Quiero algo dulce después.

    I want something sweet afterward.

    Algo dulce points at dessert without naming it.

  3. 3At a bakery

    ¿Tienen pan dulce hoy?

    Do you have sweet bread today?

    Pan dulce is a Mexican breakfast classic.

Mistakes English speakers make with dulce

Incorrect: La fruta está dulca.

Correct: La fruta está dulce.

The form is dulce, not dulca. Dulce rarely adds -a.

Incorrect: Quiero un sweet, por favor.

Correct: Quiero un dulce, por favor.

As a noun, a candy is un dulce, not English sweet.

Good to know

Dulce covers taste and, as los dulces, candy. Mexican pan dulce is sweet bread for breakfast, not a cake slice. If tea is too sugary you can say está muy dulce.

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Picking a dessert

  1. ChatPal

    ¿Quieres algo dulce ahora?

    Do you want something sweet now?

  2. You

    Sí. Un postre dulce, por favor.

    Yes. A sweet dessert, please.

  3. ChatPal

    El flan está bien dulce hoy.

    The flan is nicely sweet today.

  4. You

    Ese pido.

    I'll take that.

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"Sweet" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "Sweet" in Spanish

Does dulce change for gender?

Usually no: comida dulce, vino dulce. Learn dulce as the base form.

What does los dulces mean?

Candy or sweet treats as a noun plural.

How do I say too sweet?

Está demasiado dulce or está muy dulce.

How do you pronounce dulce?

DOOL-seh with an s sound for c.

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