Creamy usually translates to “cremoso/cremosa” for texture, while “con crema” fits foods made with cream and “color crema” fits the color.
You typed “creamy” into Google Translate and got an answer, but you still feel a tiny wobble: is that the right word for soup, skincare, paint, or a romance novel voice-over? Spanish treats “creamy” as a meaning that changes with context. The word you pick should match what’s creamy: the mouthfeel, the ingredient, the look, or even the tone.
This article gives you the clean set of Spanish options, shows how Google Translate tends to label them, and helps you choose the one a Spanish speaker expects in each setting. You’ll get ready-to-copy phrases, quick checks for gender and number agreement, and a few traps to skip.
Creamy in Spanish- Google Translate
If you only need a one-word translation, you’ll often see cremoso or cremosa. If you need a phrase that sounds natural, keep reading and match the word to the noun you’re describing.
What “Creamy” Means In Spanish
English uses “creamy” in at least four common ways. Spanish often uses different wording for each one.
Creamy As A Texture
When you mean smooth, thick, and silky, Spanish commonly uses cremoso (masculine) or cremosa (feminine). The RAE entry for “cremoso” defines it as having the nature or look of cream and also as having lots of cream.
You’ll see it with foods and textures: salsa cremosa, puré cremoso, textura cremosa. In casual speech, it can also work for cosmetic textures: una crema de textura cremosa.
Creamy Because It Contains Cream
If you mean “made with cream” more than “smooth,” Spanish can shift to phrasing with crema: con crema, a la crema, or de crema depending on the dish and region. This is where Google Translate can be hit-or-miss, since it tries to guess the recipe style from a single word.
Creamy As A Color
When you mean an off-white shade, Spanish often uses color crema or de color crema. Dictionaries split this sense from the food sense.
Creamy As A Descriptive Tone
English sometimes uses “creamy” to describe a voice, a look, or writing that feels smooth and rich. Spanish rarely mirrors that with cremoso. You’ll usually pick a more direct adjective for the vibe: sedoso (silky), suave (soft), meloso (overly sweet), or a phrase that names what you mean.
Creamy Translation In Spanish With Google Translate Tips
Google Translate can be a solid first pass, yet it works best when you give it a full phrase. A single adjective is ambiguous, so it has to guess which sense you mean. Try feeding it a short sentence that includes the noun. You’ll get a translation that reflects gender and number, plus a better chance of landing on the right meaning.
Use A Noun To Lock The Meaning
Instead of translating “creamy,” translate “creamy sauce,” “creamy soup,” or “creamy texture.” You’ll often see cremosa appear when the noun is feminine, like salsa or textura. For masculine nouns like puré or yogur, you’ll see cremoso.
Watch For Gender And Number
Spanish adjectives match the noun. That’s why you’ll see pairs like cremoso/cremosa and plurals like cremosos/cremosas. Google Translate has a feature that can show feminine and masculine alternatives for some inputs; Google documents this in its Help Center page on gender-specific translations.
Check The “Creamy” You Mean With One Swap
If the translation feels off, swap the English prompt. If you mean texture, try “smooth and creamy.” If you mean ingredient, try “made with cream.” If you mean color, try “cream-colored.” Google Translate responds differently to each cue.
Phrases You Can Copy For Food, Drinks, And Desserts
Food is the most common reason people look up “creamy,” and Spanish has a few patterns that sound natural.
Creamy Sauce
Spanish:salsa cremosa
Works for pasta sauces, dressings, and dips where the texture is the main point. Dictionaries like Cambridge list “cremoso” as the base translation for “creamy.”
Creamy Soup
Spanish:sopa cremosa or crema de [ingrediente]
Sopa cremosa stresses texture. Crema de calabaza names a soup style that’s blended and thick.
Creamy Ice Cream
Spanish:helado cremoso
This is the classic adjective route. If you mean “with extra cream,” you can add con mucha crema, though context matters.
Creamy Coffee Or Tea
Spanish:café cremoso, té con crema
If the drink contains cream, con crema is direct. If the drink is thick and smooth from milk foam or blending, cremoso can fit.
Creamy Cheesecake Filling
Spanish:relleno cremoso, textura cremosa
When you’re writing a recipe, pairing the adjective with relleno or textura keeps the intent clear.
Quick sanity check: if you can replace “creamy” with “smooth” in English and keep the meaning, cremoso is often the Spanish match. If you can replace it with “made with cream,” lean toward con crema or a la crema.
Table Of Common Spanish Options For “Creamy”
Use this as your pick-list when you see “creamy” in a recipe, product label, or description.
| English Intent | Natural Spanish | When It Fits |
|---|---|---|
| Creamy (smooth texture) | cremoso / cremosa | Soups, sauces, yogurt, purees, textures |
| Creamy texture | textura cremosa | Menus, recipes, tasting notes |
| Creamy sauce | salsa cremosa | Pasta, dips, dressings |
| Made with cream | con crema | When cream is an ingredient you want to name |
| In cream sauce | a la crema | Common in restaurant Spanish for dishes “in cream” |
| Cream-based dessert | postre de crema | Labels, menus, general descriptions |
| Cream-colored | de color crema / color crema | Clothing, paint, decor, design |
| Creamy (silky feel) | sedoso / suave | Skincare, hair products, fabric feel |
| Overly sweet (figurative) | meloso | Dialogue, writing, tone that feels sugary |
How To Avoid Common Translation Traps
Most mistakes come from translating the adjective alone or from missing agreement.
Trap 1: Using “crema” When You Mean Texture
Crema is “cream” as a noun. If you translate “creamy” to crema, you end up naming the ingredient, not the quality. A sentence like “This soup is creamy” becomes odd if you write Esta sopa es crema. The natural line is Esta sopa es cremosa.
Trap 2: Forgetting Feminine Forms
Salsa, sopa, crema, and textura are feminine, so the adjective should be cremosa. If you’re unsure, plug the full noun phrase into Google Translate, then check that the adjective ends in -a for feminine nouns.
Trap 3: Confusing “a la crema” With “crema”
A la crema is a set restaurant style phrase for dishes served in a cream sauce. It’s not the same as saying something tastes creamy. For a menu line like “Chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce,” Spanish often goes with pollo con salsa cremosa de champiñones or pollo a la crema con champiñones, depending on the house style.
Trap 4: Treating “Creamy” Like A Universal Compliment
In English, “creamy” is nearly always positive in food writing. In Spanish, cremoso is neutral until context adds the compliment. Pair it with what you mean: queda cremoso (it turns out creamy), más cremoso (creamier), or add a taste adjective.
Using Dictionaries To Double-Check Your Choice
When you’re writing a label, menu, or product copy, a dictionary check can save you from a clunky phrase. Cambridge shows “creamy” translated as cremoso with masculine and feminine forms. Cambridge’s “creamy” entry is a quick reference for the base adjective.
Some bilingual dictionaries add lots of example sentences for texture and color senses. If you’re writing for an audience that expects regional phrasing, check a dictionary that includes full-sentence usage notes.
Table Of Quick Checks Before You Hit Publish
If you’re using “creamy” in a recipe, product listing, or caption, run these checks. They catch most errors in seconds.
| Check | What To Look For | Fix If It Fails |
|---|---|---|
| Noun present | “creamy” attached to a specific thing | Add the noun: salsa, textura, helado, crema |
| Agreement | -o with masculine nouns, -a with feminine nouns | Swap cremoso ↔ cremosa, cremosos ↔ cremosas |
| Ingredient vs texture | Are you naming cream or the feel? | Use con crema for ingredient; cremoso for texture |
| Color sense | Does it mean off-white? | Use de color crema or color crema |
| Menu phrasing | Restaurant style line reads smoothly | Try a la crema or con salsa cremosa |
| Product copy | Skincare/fabric uses feel words | Pick sedoso or suave with the right noun |
| Google Translate sanity check | Full sentence produces expected form | Rewrite the prompt with more detail |
Small Prompts That Make Google Translate Work Better
Google Translate is strongest when it has context. You don’t need a paragraph. A short sentence gives it enough to choose the right sense and agreement.
Prompt Patterns
- Texture: “This sauce turns creamy.”
- Ingredient: “This dish is made with cream.”
- Color: “This shirt is cream-colored.”
- Plural items: “These desserts are creamy.”
Check Both Gender Options When English Is Neutral
If your English prompt has no noun, Spanish may still need gender. Google has written about adding feminine and masculine alternatives in Translate; its research post on gender-specific translations explains why the tool can show two forms for some single-word queries.
Mini Glossary For Creamy-Related Spanish
If you want more precision, these related words help you steer tone and meaning.
- cremosidad: creaminess, the quality of being creamy
- espeso/a: thick, often used for liquids and sauces
- suave: soft, gentle texture or feel
- sedoso/a: silky, smooth in a refined sense
- nata: cream as a dairy product, also “skin” on milk in some contexts
Example Sentences You Can Steal
Use these as patterns, then swap in your noun.
- La salsa quedó cremosa en cinco minutos.
- Quiero un helado más cremoso.
- Prefiero el café con crema.
- Compré una blusa de color crema.
- Este yogur tiene una textura cremosa.
Final Takeaway
For most daily uses, “cremoso/cremosa” is the go-to translation for a smooth, thick texture. When cream is the ingredient you want to name, “con crema” or “a la crema” fits better. When you mean the shade, “color crema” is the clean choice. Give Google Translate a short sentence with a noun, and you’ll get a result that reads like Spanish, not like a word list.
References & Sources
- Real Academia Española (RAE).“cremoso, sa.”Defines “cremoso” and lists core senses tied to cream and texture.
- Google Translate Help.“Get gender-specific translations.”Explains when Translate shows feminine and masculine variants.
- Cambridge Dictionary.“CREAMY | translate English to Spanish.”Shows “cremoso/cremosa” as a standard dictionary translation of “creamy.”
- Google Research Blog.“Providing Gender-Specific Translations in Google Translate.”Describes how Translate adds gendered alternatives for select languages and inputs.