Convert millilitres to teaspoons
Enter a volume in millilitres and read how many teaspoons it makes. Five millilitres, written 5 ml, make one metric teaspoon, and 2.5 millilitres make half of one. The field takes decimals and fractions, and the table lists 28 values from one millilitre up to 120.
What is a millilitre and what is a teaspoon?
The millilitre is the unit that the scale on an oral syringe, the marks on a measuring cup and the figure on a medicine bottle are all written in. One millilitre fills a cube one centimetre along each edge, and a thousand of them make a litre. Amounts smaller than a millilitre, measured out in drops, go through the drops to ml converter.
A teaspoon is a kitchen measure of a fixed capacity, and across Britain, Ireland, the rest of Europe and Australia it holds 5 millilitres[1]. That is the figure behind the spoon marked 1 tsp in a measuring set.
You set the spoon with the Teaspoon type switch under the converter fields. The metric spoon is selected by default, because that is the spoon a European measuring set carries.
How many teaspoons is a given number of millilitres?
Five millilitres make one teaspoon. Two and a half millilitres make half a teaspoon, and ten millilitres make two.
The same figure of five millilitres describes the teaspoon on an American package: the food labelling regulation states that a teaspoon means 5 millilitres[2], and the dosage directions on a medicine bottle count it the same way.
Medicine doses run on halves and quarters of a teaspoon. Four values show it. Two and a half millilitres make half a teaspoon. Five millilitres make a full one. Seven and a half millilitres make one and a half. Twelve and a half millilitres make two and a half.
The US customary spoon gives numbers that are less round, because it holds 4.92892159375 millilitres, one sixth of a fluid ounce[1]. Five millilitres then work out at 1.0144 teaspoons.
How do you convert millilitres to teaspoons? Formula and fractions
Divide the number of millilitres by the capacity of the spoon.
Formula: teaspoons = millilitres ÷ 5 for the metric spoon. For the US customary spoon the divisor is 4.9289.
Answers land on a half or a quarter of a teaspoon more often than not, because that is how doses on packages and portions in recipes are written. The dose table gives the fraction next to the decimal.
The converter field takes fractions directly. Type 1/2 and you get 0.1 teaspoons. Decimals work the same way, and the dot and the comma are interchangeable: 2.5 and 2,5 give the same answer.
The other direction is handled by the teaspoons to millilitres converter. A volume in tablespoons comes from the millilitres to tablespoons converter, and a reading from a measuring cup from the millilitres to cups converter.
How many teaspoons are in a given number of millilitres?
| Millilitres | Metric teaspoons | US customary teaspoons | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.2 | 0.2029 | 0.0667 |
| 1.25 | 0.25 | 0.2536 | 0.0833 |
| 1.875 | 0.375 | 0.3804 | 0.125 |
| 2 | 0.4 | 0.4058 | 0.1333 |
| 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.5072 | 0.1667 |
| 3 | 0.6 | 0.6087 | 0.2 |
| 3.75 | 0.75 | 0.7608 | 0.25 |
| 4 | 0.8 | 0.8115 | 0.2667 |
| 5 | 1 | 1.0144 | 0.3333 |
| 6 | 1.2 | 1.2173 | 0.4 |
| 7 | 1.4 | 1.4202 | 0.4667 |
| 7.5 | 1.5 | 1.5216 | 0.5 |
| 8 | 1.6 | 1.6231 | 0.5333 |
| 8.5 | 1.7 | 1.7245 | 0.5667 |
| 10 | 2 | 2.0288 | 0.6667 |
| 12 | 2.4 | 2.4346 | 0.8 |
| 12.5 | 2.5 | 2.5361 | 0.8333 |
| 13 | 2.6 | 2.6375 | 0.8667 |
| 14 | 2.8 | 2.8404 | 0.9333 |
| 15 | 3 | 3.0433 | 1 |
| 20 | 4 | 4.0577 | 1.3333 |
| 22 | 4.4 | 4.4635 | 1.4667 |
| 25 | 5 | 5.0721 | 1.6667 |
| 30 | 6 | 6.0865 | 2 |
| 35 | 7 | 7.1009 | 2.3333 |
| 50 | 10 | 10.1442 | 3.3333 |
| 100 | 20 | 20.2884 | 6.6667 |
| 120 | 24 | 24.3461 | 8 |
Medicine doses in millilitres written as a fraction of a teaspoon
| Dose | As a fraction of a teaspoon | Metric teaspoons | Which measuring spoons make it up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.25 ml | 1/4 | 0.25 | the 1/4 tsp spoon |
| 1.875 ml | 3/8 | 0.375 | the 1/4 tsp and 1/8 tsp spoons |
| 2.5 ml | 1/2 | 0.5 | the 1/2 tsp spoon |
| 3.75 ml | 3/4 | 0.75 | the 1/2 tsp and 1/4 tsp spoons |
| 5 ml | 1 | 1 | one full teaspoon |
| 7.5 ml | 1 1/2 | 1.5 | a teaspoon and the 1/2 tsp spoon |
| 10 ml | 2 | 2 | two teaspoons |
| 12.5 ml | 2 1/2 | 2.5 | two teaspoons and the 1/2 tsp spoon |
| 15 ml | 3 | 3 | three teaspoons, which is one tablespoon |
| 20 ml | 4 | 4 | four teaspoons |
How many teaspoons do everyday volumes hold?
| Volume | Metric teaspoons | US customary teaspoons | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single 5 ml dose of a syrup | 1 | 1.0144 | 0.3333 |
| Tablespoon, 15 ml | 3 | 3.0433 | 1 |
| Fluid ounce on a US label, 30 ml | 6 | 6.0865 | 2 |
| Shot glass, 50 ml | 10 | 10.1442 | 3.3333 |
| Bottle of syrup, 100 ml | 20 | 20.2884 | 6.6667 |
| Half a cup on a US label, 120 ml | 24 | 24.3461 | 8 |
| Measuring cup, 250 ml | 50 | 50.721 | 16.6667 |
| Can of a soft drink, 330 ml | 66 | 66.9518 | 22 |
| Bottle, 500 ml | 100 | 101.4421 | 33.3333 |
| One litre, 1000 ml | 200 | 202.8841 | 66.6667 |
How do teaspoons differ between measurement systems?
| Kind of teaspoon | Capacity | Spoons of this kind in 5 ml | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric teaspoon | 5 ml | 1 | Britain, Ireland and the rest of Europe |
| Australian teaspoon | 5 ml | 1 | Australia: recipes and measuring sets |
| Teaspoon on a US label | 5 ml | 1 | United States: nutrition panels and medicine directions |
| US customary teaspoon | 4.92892159375 ml | 1.0144 | United States: recipes and measuring sets |
| Pre-metric Canadian teaspoon | 4.7355 ml | 1.0559 | Canada: cookbooks printed before metrication |
| Imperial teaspoon, the fluid drachm | 3.5516 ml | 1.4078 | Britain: recipes and prescriptions printed before metrication |
Which number formats does this converter accept?
| What you type | What the converter shows | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 6 tsp | A plain number is read as millilitres, because that’s what the field is labeled. |
| 30 ml | 6 tsp | The ml symbol pasted along with the number is skipped, so only the number counts. |
| 30 millilitres | 6 tsp | The whole word is skipped the same way, so a line copied from a recipe needs no tidying. |
| 12.5 | 2.5 tsp | The period is your decimal point, and that’s exactly how we read it. |
| 12,5 | 2.5 tsp | A comma with fewer than three digits after it is a decimal comma from a European recipe, so we read twelve and a half millilitres. |
| 12 1/2 | 2.5 tsp | A mixed number is read the way a recipe writes it, as twelve and a half millilitres. |
| 7½ | 1.5 tsp | The ½ character copied from a recipe is added to the number in front of it. |
| 1.500 | 0.3 tsp | A single period is always read as a decimal point, so the field takes one and a half millilitres. A note under the field says: Read as 1.5. If you meant 1500, type 1500. |
| 1,500 | 300 tsp | A comma followed by three digits groups thousands, so the field reads fifteen hundred millilitres. A note under the field says: Read as 1500. If you meant 1.5, type 1.5. |
| 0.5 l | 100 tsp | Litres are turned into millilitres by the field itself, so half a litre counts as 500 ml. |
| 2 tsp | 2 tsp | Teaspoons typed with tsp are turned into millilitres first and then into teaspoons. |
| 1 tbsp | 3 tsp | A tablespoon typed with tbsp is turned into millilitres first and then into teaspoons. |
How do you measure out a portion given in millilitres?
Four steps from the figure on the package to the measured portion.
Type the figure from the package into the converter
The converter gives the answer in teaspoons, and the dose table shows the same value as a fraction. Five millilitres make one teaspoon, 2.5 millilitres half of one and 7.5 millilitres one and a half.For a medicine, reach for the device that came with the package
The oral syringe, dosing cup or dosing spoon supplied with the package carries a scale matched to that preparation. The American drug agency advises manufacturers to mark such a device in the same units as the dosage directions printed on the carton, the bottle and the leaflet[4].Compare the abbreviation on the device with the one on the package
The same guidance names mL as the standard abbreviation for the millilitre and tsp for the teaspoon. It also advises writing a dose as a whole number, 4 rather than 4.0, because the longer form can be read as ten times the amount[4].For a recipe, measure the portion with a kitchen measuring set
A kitchen set carries 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoon spoons along with a full teaspoon. Two and a half millilitres go into the 1/2 tsp spoon, and 1.25 millilitres into the 1/4 tsp spoon. How many tablespoons those teaspoons add up to comes from the teaspoons to tablespoons converter.
Convert other units to Teaspoons
Convert Millilitres to other units
Sources
- Teaspoon — Wikipedia
- 21 CFR 101.9 — Nutrition labeling of food — Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Cuillère à café — Wikipédia
- Dosage Delivery Devices for Orally Ingested OTC Liquid Drug Products — U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Every figure in the tables was computed from the unit definitions and checked arithmetically before publication. Historical values and the names of local units come from the sources listed above.
Content last reviewed: · written and checked by the Arteon team
Common questions about converting millilitres to teaspoons
How many teaspoons is 5 ml?
Five millilitres are exactly one metric teaspoon. With the US customary spoon that is 1.0144 teaspoons. An American nutrition label gives the same figure, counting a teaspoon as 5 millilitres.
How many teaspoons is 10 ml?
Ten millilitres are two metric teaspoons, which is two thirds of a tablespoon. With the US customary spoon that is 2.0288 teaspoons.
How many teaspoons is 2.5 ml?
Two and a half millilitres are half a metric teaspoon. In a kitchen set that is the spoon marked 1/2 tsp, and with the US customary spoon it works out at 0.5072 teaspoons.
How many teaspoons is 7.5 ml?
Seven and a half millilitres are one and a half metric teaspoons, so a full teaspoon plus the 1/2 tsp spoon. The same portion is half a tablespoon.
How many teaspoons is 15 ml?
Fifteen millilitres are three metric teaspoons, which is exactly one tablespoon. With the US customary spoon that is 3.0433 teaspoons. Larger volumes in tablespoons come from the millilitres to tablespoons converter.
How many teaspoons is 100 ml?
A hundred millilitres are twenty metric teaspoons, which is six and two thirds tablespoons. With the US customary spoon that is 20.2884 teaspoons.
How many teaspoons are in a cup?
A US customary cup of 236.59 millilitres holds 47.32 metric teaspoons. The cup on a US label is 240 millilitres, which is exactly forty-eight metric teaspoons. A volume read off a measuring cup goes through the millilitres to cups converter.
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