Meetha

Meetha is a term used in several South Asian languages, especially Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi, meaning "sweet." As an adjective, it describes flavors that contain sugar or sugar substitutes; as a noun, it can refer to desserts or sweet dishes in general. The word is used in everyday speech to describe both taste and category of foods.

In culinary contexts, meetha designates the dessert course or sweet items served after a savory meal. It encompasses a wide range of sweets, such as kheer, halwa, laddoo, barfi, jalebi, and gulab jamun, though regional varieties vary. In many households, a small portion of meetha is offered to mark occasions, festivals, weddings, and celebratory events.

Linguistically, the term is found across the Hindi-speaking and Urdu-speaking regions, with scripts given as Hindi मीठा and Urdu میٹھا. It is also used in other Indian languages with similar meaning. Beyond cuisine, meetha can function as a personal name in parts of South Asia, reflecting the positive association with sweetness.

In some regional usages, meetha may appear as "meetha pani" or "sweet water," referring to a beverage or a palate cleanser offered after spicy foods. Overall, meetha denotes sweetness in taste, culture, and naming, rather than a fixed dish or recipe.