What Is Teaspoon US (tsp)?
The Teaspoon US is a small unit for measuring volume. People mainly use it in the United States to measure small amounts of liquids and dry ingredients, especially in cooking and baking.
Definition
The Teaspoon US is a unit of volume in the US customary system. By law, one US teaspoon is exactly 4.92892159375 milliliters. In everyday use, people often round this to about 5 milliliters.
In simple words, a US teaspoon is a small amount of space that can hold about one small sip of liquid, like water or medicine.
History / Origin
The idea of a teaspoon began as a real spoon used at the table for drinking tea. Long ago, spoons were not all the same size, so the amount they held was not exact.
Over time, cooks and doctors needed a fixed and clear size for measuring. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the United States slowly set standard sizes for kitchen spoons. The US teaspoon was finally given an exact volume in milliliters to match modern science and medicine.
Today, even though we still say teaspoon, it is no longer just any spoon. It is a standard unit of volume with a precise size.
Symbol & Abbreviation
The most common short forms for the Teaspoon US are:
- tsp
- t sometimes used, but can be confusing
To avoid mistakes, recipe writers usually use tsp for teaspoon and tbsp or Tbsp for tablespoon.
Current Use Around the World
The Teaspoon US is mainly used in:
- United States for recipes, food labels, and some medicine doses
- Canada in many recipes, often close to US sizes
- Some other countries in American style cookbooks and on US food products
Many other countries use a metric teaspoon of exactly 5 milliliters. This metric teaspoon is very close in size to the US teaspoon, so in most home recipes the difference is not important. However, in science and medicine even this small difference can matter, so they usually use milliliters directly instead of teaspoons.
Example Conversions
Here are some simple conversions for the Teaspoon US.
US teaspoon to milliliters
- 1 US tsp ≈ 4.93 mL
- 2 US tsp ≈ 9.86 mL
- 3 US tsp ≈ 14.79 mL (often rounded to 15 mL)
- 5 US tsp ≈ 24.64 mL (about 25 mL)
US teaspoon to tablespoons and cups
- 3 US tsp = 1 US tablespoon (tbsp)
- 6 US tsp = 2 US tbsp
- 12 US tsp = 4 US tbsp = 1/4 US cup
- 24 US tsp = 8 US tbsp = 1/2 US cup
- 48 US tsp = 16 US tbsp = 1 US cup
US teaspoon to US fluid ounces and liters
- 1 US tsp ≈ 0.1667 US fluid ounces
- 6 US tsp ≈ 1 US fluid ounce
- 1 US tsp ≈ 0.00493 liters
- 200 US tsp ≈ 0.986 liters (about 1 liter)
Related Units
Units closely related to the Teaspoon US include:
- Tablespoon US (tbsp) 1 tbsp = 3 tsp
- US fluid ounce (fl oz) about 6 tsp in 1 fl oz
- US cup 1 cup = 48 tsp
- Milliliter (mL) metric volume unit, 1 US tsp ≈ 4.93 mL
- Liter (L) larger metric volume unit, 1 L = about 203 US tsp
- Metric teaspoon defined as exactly 5 mL
FAQs
Is a US teaspoon the same as a household spoon?
No. A household spoon can be larger or smaller than a standard teaspoon. A US teaspoon is a fixed measurement used in recipes and on measuring spoons.
How many milliliters are in 1 US teaspoon?
One US teaspoon is exactly 4.92892159375 milliliters. In simple use, people often say it is about 5 milliliters.
Is a US teaspoon the same as a metric teaspoon?
No. A metric teaspoon is exactly 5 milliliters, which is slightly more than a US teaspoon. The difference is small, so in most home cooking it does not cause problems.
How many US teaspoons are in 1 tablespoon?
There are 3 US teaspoons in 1 US tablespoon.
How many US teaspoons are in 1 cup?
There are 48 US teaspoons in 1 US cup.
Can I use teaspoons to measure medicine?
Only if your doctor or the medicine label clearly uses teaspoons and you have proper measuring spoons. For best safety, doctors usually prefer measurements in milliliters.
Are UK and US teaspoons the same?
Modern measuring teaspoons in many countries are close to 5 milliliters, so they are very similar. Older British recipes might use slightly different spoon sizes, so there can be small differences.
Why do recipes still use teaspoons instead of milliliters?
Teaspoons and tablespoons are easy to imagine and measure with simple kitchen tools. Many home cooks find them more comfortable than milliliters, especially in countries that use US customary units.