sweet / candy
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sweet / candy
A food that consists mainly of sugar or other sweet substances, such as hard candies, chocolate, or gummy bears. Usually used in the plural.
Als kleine Belohnung gönnte er sich nach dem Essen eine Süßigkeit.
As a small reward, he treated himself to a sweet after the meal.
The word is made up of the adjective 'süß' (sweet) and the ending '-igkeit'. This ending is often used to form nouns from adjectives that describe a quality or a thing with that quality.
Die Freundlichkeit der Gastgeber hat uns beeindruckt.
The friendliness of the hosts impressed us.
Although there is a singular form, the word is usually used in the plural, 'Süßigkeiten' (sweets/candy). The singular 'eine Süßigkeit' (a sweet/a piece of candy) refers to one individual piece, while the plural refers to the category in general.
Er hat eine ganze Tüte Süßigkeiten gekauft.
He bought a whole bag of sweets.
In connection with sweets, the verb 'naschen' is used very frequently. It means to enjoy sweet things in small amounts and often secretly.
Kinder naschen gerne Süßigkeiten, wenn die Eltern nicht hinsehen.
Children like to snack on sweets when their parents aren't looking.
The spelling 'Süssigkeit' with 'ss' is common in Switzerland. In Germany and Austria, after the spelling reform, 'Süßigkeit' is written with 'ß'.
In der Schweiz kauft man „süsse“ Sachen.
In Switzerland, people buy 'süsse' (sweet) things.
dessert
'die Süssigkeit' and 'das Dessert' can both be sweet, but they belong to different situations. 'Süssigkeiten' are things like hard candies, chocolate, or gummy bears. People often eat them between meals or as a small snack. 'das Dessert' is the last course after a meal, for example pudding, ice cream, or fruit salad. Learners may confuse the words because both can taste sweet. The most important difference is their role in a meal: a Süssigkeit is a sweet product, while a Dessert is a course in a menu.
Nico nimmt sich in der Pause ein paar Süssigkeiten aus seiner Tasche.
During the break, Nico takes a few sweets from his bag.
Nach der Hauptspeise bestellte mein Bruder ein Dessert mit Vanilleeis.
After the main course, my brother ordered a dessert with vanilla ice cream.