How Many Teaspoons in a Tablespoon? Measurement Conversion Chart

When working with a limited set of measuring spoons or scaling your favorite recipes up or down, memorizing this kitchen fact will save time:

• 1 tablespoon is equal to 3 teaspoons

For everything else, use this list of conversions for cooking measurements:

• How many teaspoons in a tablespoon? 1 U.S. tablespoon = 3 U.S. teaspoons
• How many teaspoons in a ½ tablespoon? ½ U.S. tablespoon = 1½ U.S. teaspoons
• How many ¼ teaspoons in a tablespoon? 1 U.S. tablespoon = 12 U.S. ¼ teaspoons
• How many teaspoons in 3 tablespoons? 3 U.S. tablespoons = 9 U.S. teaspoons
• How many tablespoons in ¼ cup? ¼ U.S. cup = 4 tablespoons

Teaspoons and tablespoons are used in the United States and around the world, but they’re not exactly the same. The United States, Liberia, and Myanmar use the imperial system, while the rest of the world uses the metric system.

• In the imperial system, 1 tablespoon equals ½ fluid ounce (14.79 milliliters)
• In the metric system, a metric tablespoon equals exactly 15 mL
• While Australia uses the metric system, their tablespoon is a bit different: an Australian tablespoon equals 20 mL (0.68 US fluid ounces)
• One U.S. teaspoon equals ⅙ fluid ounce (4.93 mL), slightly less than the 5-mL metric teaspoon

These differences in volume are small enough that American and metric measuring spoons can be easily interchanged without significantly altering a recipe.

A dessert spoon is a unit of volume used in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

At 10 mL, it’s between a tablespoon and a teaspoon in size.

In the U.S., a stick of butter is typically 4 ounces (113.40 grams), or 8 tablespoons. So, half a stick of butter equals 4 tablespoons.

Since tablespoons are a measure of volume, not mass, the weight of a spoonful of sugar depends on what kind of sugar you’re using. In general, however, 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar weighs about 12½ grams.

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