Teelusikallinen

Teelusikallinen is a unit of volume used in Finnish cooking and everyday measurements. It denotes the amount that can be held in a teaspoon and is abbreviated tl in written form. In practice, teelusikallinen is commonly treated as equivalent to about 5 milliliters.

The exact volume of a teelusikallinen can vary with the spoon and the substance being measured. For liquids and dry ingredients alike, 1 teelusikallinen is typically considered approximately 5 ml for practical use in recipes and nutrition labeling. When converting to weight, the mass of a teelusikallinen depends on the substance’s density (for example, sugar weighs about 4 grams per teaspoon, while salt weighs around 5 grams per teaspoon).

Usage is widespread in recipes, dietary guidance, and consumer labeling to express small quantities of ingredients such as spices, sugar, salt, or extract. The term helps distinguish small measurements from larger units like raskiplausut or tablespoonfuls, and it is almost universally understood in Finland.

Etymology: the word teelusikallinen derives from te (tea) and lusikka (spoon), reflecting the historical practice of measuring a tea serving with a small spoon. The form functions both as a noun and as a measure in everday language.

See also: teelusikka, mittalusikka, and respective equivalents in other languages.