Sucrose is the scientific name for ordinary sugar — the white sugar in your kitchen, the sugar in sugar cane and sugar beet. In chemistry it is one particular kind of sugar: a molecule made of two smaller sugars, glucose and fructose, joined together.

Sucrose is the scientific name for ordinary sugarSucrose 是一般說的「糖」的科學名稱 — the white sugar in your kitchen也就是廚房裡的白糖, the sugar in sugar cane and sugar beet甘蔗和甜菜裡的糖。 In chemistry在化學上 it is one particular kind of sugar它是一種特定的糖: a molecule made of two smaller sugars是由兩個較小的糖組成的一個分子, glucose and fructose也就是葡萄糖和果糖, joined together結合在一起而成。

That matters because 'sugar' in English is loose. It can mean the white stuff in the bowl, or it can mean any sweet substance of that chemical family — glucose, fructose, lactose in milk, maltose in grain. Sucrose is the exact word for the common one.

That matters because這很重要，因為 'sugar' in English英文的「sugar」這個字 is loose用得很鬆散、不精確。 It can mean the white stuff in the bowl它可以指碗裡那種白色的東西, or it can mean any sweet substance of that chemical family也可以泛指那整個化學家族裡任何甜的物質 — glucose, fructose, lactose in milk, maltose in grain像葡萄糖、果糖、牛奶裡的乳糖、穀物裡的麥芽糖。 Sucrose is the exact word for the common onesucrose 才是精確指那個常見糖的字。

So you see it in three places: in science and biology class, on food labels and nutrition tables, and in health writing where the writer wants to be precise about which sugar. In everyday talk, nobody says sucrose. You ask for sugar in your coffee. If someone says sucrose in conversation, they are usually making a point about health, or being playfully technical.

So you see it in three places所以你會在三個地方看到它: in science and biology class科學和生物課上, on food labels and nutrition tables食品標示和營養成分表上, and in health writing where the writer wants to be precise about which sugar還有想精確指出是哪一種糖的健康類文章裡。 In everyday talk日常說話時, nobody says sucrose沒有人會講 sucrose。 You ask for sugar in your coffee你點咖啡時是說要加 sugar（糖）。 If someone says sucrose in conversation如果有人在聊天時講 sucrose, they are usually making a point about health通常是想強調健康方面的重點, or being playfully technical或是故意講得很專業、開個小玩笑。

One thing to notice: the -ose ending marks a sugar throughout English. Once you see that, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose and sucrose stop being five hard words and become one pattern.

One thing to notice有一件事值得注意: the -ose ending-ose 這個字尾 marks a sugar throughout English在英文裡就是用來標示「糖」的。 Once you see that一旦你看懂這一點, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose and sucroseglucose、fructose、lactose、maltose 和 sucrose stop being five hard words就不再是五個難記的單字 and become one pattern而是變成同一種規律。