albumen
/alˈbumen/masculine
The English phrase egg white is translated into Spanish as albumen or clara.
Meaning: clear fluid part of an egg surrounding the yolk, white of a particular egg (noun)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| albumen | /alˈbumen/ | masculine |
| clara | /ˈklaɾa/ | feminine |
In Spanish, this refers to the clear fluid part of an egg that surrounds the yolk. While you can use the single word clara to refer to egg whites when the context is clear, more formal descriptions exist.
Which one should you use?
clara is the standard word used in everyday conversation and cooking, whereas albumen is a technical term used in biology or professional culinary contexts rather than in a typical kitchen.
How does it change in a sentence?
clara is a feminine noun, so its plural form is claras. albumen is a masculine noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/alˈbumen/
Did you know?
- In Spain, ordering a clara at a bar will get you a shandy, which is a mixture of beer and lemonade, rather than anything to do with eggs.
- The technical term albumen shares a common ancestor with the English word 'albino'. Both words trace their roots back to the Latin word 'albus', which signifies the color 'white'.
- Because clara means 'clear', the word claro is used in Spanish to say 'of course' or 'certainly', as if the answer is transparently obvious.
Examples in context
- La yema es lo amarillo, la clara es lo blanco.The yolk is the yellow part, the egg white is the white part.This sentence is useful for illustrating the difference between the yolk and the clara.Tatoeba #6816398 by arh, translation #10241798 by LimeGreenTeknii
- Para hacer una torta esponjosa, necesitarás diez claras de huevo.To make a fluffy cake, you'll need ten egg whites.
- La albúmina de huevo es una excelente fuente de proteínas.Egg white is an excellent source of protein.
- Podrías separar las claras de los huevos, por favor?Could you separate the egg whites, please?
- En mi desayuno solo como claras de huevo sin la yema.For my breakfast, I only eat egg whites without the yolk.
- Necesito solo la clara del huevo para esta receta.I need only the egg white for this recipe.
Example conversation
Elena and Alejandro are baking a cake in the kitchen.
- ElenaAlejandro, ¿puedes separar el albumen de la yema?Alejandro, can you separate the egg white from the yolk?
- AlejandroSí, lo haré ahora mismo.Yes, I will do it right now.
- ElenaNecesitamos el albumen para hacer el merengue.We need the egg white to make the meringue.
- AlejandroListo, ya están separados.Done, they are already separated.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “egg white” translations and entries albumen, clara, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries albumen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
