Spanish vocabulary · Beginner
Raw in Spanish: Crudo
Crudo · adjective · KROO-doh
Crudo is the Spanish adjective for raw, used for uncooked food, unprocessed materials, and harsh or unfiltered descriptions. In Mexican slang, estar crudo also means to be hungover.
KROO-doh
No debes comer pollo crudo.
You shouldn't eat raw chicken.
Raw in Spanish: Quick Reference
Below are the most common Spanish words for raw, with pronunciation and regional usage notes.
| Spanish | English | Pronunciation | Region / Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| crudo | raw | KROO-doh | Default, widely understood |
| en crudo | raw | in a raw state (culinary) | |
| sin cocinar | raw | uncooked (descriptive) |
How Native Speakers Use Crudo
Real example sentences across three contexts you'll actually run into.
Food safety
La carne cruda puede contener bacterias peligrosas.
Raw meat can contain dangerous bacteria.
Discussing food handling precautions.
Sushi preference
A mi hermano le encanta el pescado crudo en el sushi.
My brother loves raw fish in sushi.
Talking about Japanese cuisine preferences.
Figurative use
El documental muestra la realidad cruda de la pobreza urbana.
The documentary shows the raw reality of urban poverty.
Crudo used figuratively to mean harsh or unfiltered.
Avoid These Mistakes When Using Crudo
Using crudo for rare steak
Incorrect: Quiero mi bistec crudo. (wanting rare)
Correct: Quiero mi bistec poco hecho.
Crudo means completely raw and uncooked — for a rare steak you want poco hecho (lightly done) or término rojo in Mexico.
Gender agreement
Incorrect: La verdura está crudo.
Correct: La verdura está cruda.
Crudo must agree in gender with the noun — feminine nouns like verdura require the feminine form cruda.
Lock in Raw Vocabulary with the Parrot Method
Why word lists alone don't stick
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See Crudo used by native speakers
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Common Questions About Raw in Spanish
- How do you say 'raw' in Spanish?
- The adjective is crudo (masculine) or cruda (feminine). It applies to uncooked food like pescado crudo (raw fish), unprocessed materials like seda cruda (raw silk), and figurative uses like la verdad cruda (the raw truth).
- Does crudo have slang meanings?
- In Mexico and parts of Central America, estar crudo or tener cruda means to be hungover. After a night of heavy drinking, someone might say tengo una cruda horrible, which has nothing to do with food.
- How do you order steak doneness in Spanish?
- Spanish steak temperatures differ from raw: poco hecho or término rojo is rare, al punto or término medio is medium, and bien hecho or bien cocido is well done. Crudo would mean completely uncooked, which is not a standard steak order.