Translation guide
Describes foods or drinks that taste very sweet, often with a negative or excessive nuance. Also used figuratively for overly sentimental things.
To describe a food or drink that is unpleasantly or excessively sweet, like candy or syrup.
To describe something like a story, movie, or behavior that is excessively sweet, romantic, or cute in a cloying way.
Do not use 砂糖のような (like sugar) to mean 'sugary' in taste; it sounds unnatural. Use 甘ったるい or 甘すぎる instead.
Most direct equivalent. Implies an overly sweet, cloying taste that is often unpleasant. Commonly used for desserts or drinks.
This cake is so sugary that one bite is enough.
Literally 'too sweet'. A simple, common way to say something is excessively sweet. Less nuanced than 甘ったるい but very natural.
This juice is too sugary; I can't drink it.
Means 'full of sugar'. Used to describe foods with a lot of sugar, often implying a sugary taste.
These cookies are sugary and kids love them.
Simply 'sweet'. Can be used for sugary things, but lacks the excessive nuance. Context must make the excess clear.
This donut is really sugary, isn't it?
Same word as for taste, but used figuratively. Describes overly sentimental or saccharine expressions, stories, or behavior.
The love scenes in that movie are so sugary I can't watch them.
Slang for 'cheesy' or 'corny'. Often used for overly sentimental or clichéd expressions. Can be used for sugary-sweet dialogue.
His lines were so sugary I laughed.
Can mean 'naive' or 'overly optimistic', but in context can imply a sugary sentimentality. Less direct than 甘ったるい.
That story is a bit too sugary.