味道真的變甜
這一家就是核心畫面本身：加的是真的糖，變甜的是真的食物。
verb · B1
To make food or drink taste sweeter, usually by adding something such as sugar or honey. It is also used the other way round, for something that becomes sweeter by itself.
加甜；變甜
核心畫面
A going in, and the whole cup changing. Picture a drink that is flat, or a bit bitter. You stir in one spoon of honey, and the taste becomes easy to swallow. Nothing has been taken out; something small has been put in, and that is enough to change how the whole thing goes down. Every use of sweeten can be read as that same , with the honey wearing a different shape each time — a bonus added to an offer, a good year added to a hard character, a warm phone call added to a bad week.
可以想成廚房裡的一個動作：一杯東西本來平平的，甚至有點苦，你舀一匙蜂蜜進去攪一攪，整杯就變得好入口了。沒有拿掉任何東…更多收起
可以想成廚房裡的一個動作：一杯東西本來平平的，甚至有點苦，你舀一匙蜂蜜進去攪一攪，整杯就變得好入口了。沒有拿掉任何東西，只是加了一點小東西進去，整體的味道就不一樣了。sweeten 的每一種用法，都像在做這同一個動作，差別只在那匙蜜換了樣子：談條件時它是多給的獎金，寫人的時候它是歲月或某件好事，寫日子的時候它是一通電話、一杯熱茶。From the word’s history
The source says sweeten is simply sweet plus the ending -en, which makes a verb meaning 'make it become that'. So the spoonful picture is built into the word itself: sweet is the taste, -en is the act of putting it there.
資料說 sweeten 就是 sweet（甜的）加上字尾 -en，-en 的作用是「使變成…」。所以上面那匙蜜的畫面，其實就寫在字的結構裡：sweet 是味道，-en 是把它放進去的那個動作。資料還提到，這個字取代了中古英語從古法文借來的 doucen。
Wiktionary entry for sweeten (source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:925250744): "From sweet + -en. Eclipsed non-native Middle English doucen and endoucen, borrowed from Old French adoucir and endoucir."
Three branches
條件變甜
把那匙蜜換成獎金、假期或折扣，把那杯茶換成一份開出來的條件。加了之後，對方比較吞得下去。
verb · B2
To make an offer or an arrangement more attractive to someone, usually by adding money, gifts, or extra benefits, so that they will agree to it.
加碼；讓條件變得更誘人
人和日子變柔軟
被加甜的不再是味道，而是一個人的性情，或一段難熬的時間。加進去的是歲月、好運、善意。這一家整體偏書面。
verb · C1
To make a person kinder or gentler, so that they treat other people more warmly than before.
使（人）變得溫和