120 Grams of Sugar to Cups
⅝ cup in a US cup — and what that looks like with a measuring spoon
120 grams of granulated sugar is ⅝ cup in a US cup. In the kitchen that is ½ cup, 1 tablespoon plus 1¾ teaspoons.
Grams weigh and cups fill, so the answer only exists once you say what is in the cup. A US cup of granulated sugar weighs 200 g, and every figure on this page comes from that one number.
It also depends on whose cup you mean, though not much at this weight. A 250 ml metric cup — the standard in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada — holds about 5.7% more than the 236.6 ml US cup, but 120 g of granulated sugar still rounds to ⅝ cup in both: 0.60 US cups against 0.57 metric.
Round to the nearest measure in a standard cup set — ½ cup — and you are 20 g under, about 17% of the amount.
120 g of sugar in each cup standard
| Cup standard | Size | Grams per cup | Cups |
|---|---|---|---|
| US customary | 236.6 ml | 200 g | ⅝ |
| Metric (UK, AU, NZ, CA) | 250 ml | 211 g | ⅝ |
| Imperial (older UK) | 284 ml | 240 g | ½ |
A recipe that says "cups" without saying which one is almost always American. At 120 g it barely matters for granulated sugar — both cups round to the same measure — but on a larger batch the 5.7% gap compounds.
How to measure 120 g of sugar without scales
Granulated sugar does not compact the way flour does, so scooping and spooning give almost the same weight. Fill the cup and level it off.
This is white granulated sugar at 200 g per cup. Caster sugar is finer and packs to 225 g, and powdered sugar is much lighter at 120 g, so those are different conversions.
- Build it as ½ cup, 1 tablespoon plus 1¾ teaspoons rather than guessing at ⅝ of a cup.
- 120 g is 9.6 tablespoons of granulated sugar, at 12.5 g per tablespoon.
- A digital scale removes the question entirely, and costs less than the ingredients it saves.
Nearby amounts of sugar
| Grams | US cups | Metric cups | Tablespoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95 g | ½ | ½ | 7.6 |
| 100 g | ½ | ½ | 8 |
| 110 g | ½ | ½ | 8.8 |
| 115 g | ⅝ | ½ | 9.2 |
| 125 g | ⅝ | ⅝ | 10 |
| 130 g | ⅔ | ⅝ | 10.4 |
| 135 g | ⅔ | ⅝ | 10.8 |
| 140 g | ⅔ | ⅔ | 11.2 |
120 g of something else
The same 120 g is a different number of cups for every ingredient, because they do not weigh the same for their size.
| Ingredient | Grams per US cup | US cups |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 125 g | 0.96 |
| Butter | 227 g | ½ |
| Water | 237 g | ½ |
| Oats | 90 g | 1⅓ |
120 grams in other units
| Unit | Amount |
|---|---|
| US cups | ⅝ |
| Tablespoons | 9.6 |
| Teaspoons | 28.8 |
| Ounces (weight) | 4.23 oz |
| Pounds | 0.26 lb |
| Millilitres (volume it fills) | 142 ml |
Frequently asked questions
How many cups is 120 grams of sugar?
120 grams of granulated sugar is ⅝ cup in a US cup, based on 200 g per cup. A 250 ml metric cup rounds to the same ⅝ cup.
What is the easiest way to measure 120 g of sugar?
½ cup, 1 tablespoon plus 1¾ teaspoons — built from a standard cup and spoon set. Granulated sugar does not compact the way flour does, so scooping and spooning give almost the same weight. Fill the cup and level it off.
Is 120 g of sugar the same in cups in the UK?
Near enough. A UK, Australian, New Zealand or Canadian metric cup is 250 ml against the US cup's 236.6 ml, so the exact answers differ — 0.60 US cups against 0.57 metric — but both round to ⅝ cup, and at this weight you can use either.
Can I just use ½ cup instead?
½ cup of granulated sugar weighs about 100 g, so you would be 20 g under. For a sauce or a soup that is fine; for a cake, where the flour-to-liquid ratio sets the crumb, weigh it.
How many ounces is 120 grams?
120 grams is 4.23 ounces by weight. Unlike cups, that answer is the same whatever you are measuring — ounces weigh, fluid ounces fill, and they are not the same unit.