volume · reference · conversions
Teaspoons, Tablespoons, and Cups: The Complete Volume Conversion Guide
Every volume relationship in one place — teaspoons to tablespoons to cups to gallons — plus the international spoon differences.
Von Ali RazaAktualisiert 7 Min. Lesezeit
Volume conversions are the friendliest part of baking arithmetic: the ratios are fixed, exact, and identical for every ingredient. Three teaspoons make a tablespoon; sixteen tablespoons make a cup. Everything else follows.
The chain, from smallest to largest
| Unit | In teaspoons | In tablespoons | In cups | Millilitres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 1 | ⅓ | 1/48 | 4.93 ml |
| 1 tablespoon | 3 | 1 | 1/16 | 14.79 ml |
| 1 fluid ounce | 6 | 2 | ⅛ | 29.57 ml |
| ¼ cup | 12 | 4 | ¼ | 59 ml |
| ½ cup | 24 | 8 | ½ | 118 ml |
| 1 cup | 48 | 16 | 1 | 237 ml |
| 1 pint | 96 | 32 | 2 | 473 ml |
| 1 quart | 192 | 64 | 4 | 946 ml |
| 1 gallon | 768 | 256 | 16 | 3,785 ml |
Teaspoons to tablespoons
| Teaspoons | Tablespoons | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| ¼ tsp | 1/12 tbsp | Salt in a single-batch cookie dough |
| ½ tsp | ⅙ tbsp | Baking soda, vanilla |
| 1 tsp | ⅓ tbsp | Baking powder, spices |
| 1½ tsp | ½ tbsp | Leavening in a larger batch |
| 3 tsp | 1 tbsp | — |
| 6 tsp | 2 tbsp | = 1 fluid ounce |
| 12 tsp | 4 tbsp | = ¼ cup |
The abbreviations, which are genuinely confusing
- tsp or t = teaspoon
- tbsp, Tbsp, T or tbs = tablespoon
- The lowercase-t / uppercase-T convention is real but unreliable — plenty of recipes ignore it.
- "tspb" is not a unit; it is a typo for tsp.
When a recipe is ambiguous, use context. Three teaspoons of vanilla in a cake is plausible; three tablespoons is not. One teaspoon of baking powder per cup of flour is standard; one tablespoon would be three times too much.
International spoon and cup sizes
| Region | Teaspoon | Tablespoon | Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 4.93 ml | 14.79 ml | 236.6 ml |
| Metric / Europe | 5 ml | 15 ml | 250 ml |
| United Kingdom | 5 ml | 15 ml | 250 ml |
| Australia | 5 ml | 20 ml | 250 ml |
| New Zealand | 5 ml | 15 ml | 250 ml |
| Japan | 5 ml | 15 ml | 200 ml |
Teaspoons are effectively universal. Tablespoons are universal except in Australia. Cups vary by up to 20% between the US and Japan, which is the largest single discrepancy in kitchen measurement.
Why the Australian tablespoon matters so much
At 20 ml it holds four teaspoons rather than three. So an Australian recipe's tablespoon is 35% larger than the one you probably own, and vice versa.
For flour or sugar, a 35% error is survivable. For baking powder or salt it is not. If you are working across the Australian boundary in either direction, measure tablespoons as teaspoons: 3 tsp for a 15 ml spoon, 4 tsp for a 20 ml one.
The dry-versus-liquid cup distinction
Dry and liquid measuring cups hold the same volume but are built for different jobs. Dry cups are filled to the brim and levelled off; liquid cups have a spout and marks below the rim so you can carry them without spilling.
Using them interchangeably introduces error in both directions. Read liquid cups at eye level on a flat surface — looking down at an angle can misread by several percent.
What volume conversion cannot tell you
None of this touches weight. Sixteen tablespoons fill a cup regardless of contents, but that cup weighs 120 g as flour and 340 g as honey. The moment grams enter the question, you need the ingredient's density — and that is a different conversion entirely.