Translation guide
A substance added to a liquid to make it thicker, used in cooking, industry, and other contexts.
A substance used to thicken sauces, soups, stews, etc.
General term for thickening agent in cooking; common in recipes and food products.
このスープにとろみ剤を加えてください。
Please add a thickener to this soup.
More technical term for thickener, often used in food science or ingredient lists.
増粘剤としてコーンスターチが使われています。
Cornstarch is used as a thickener.
Refers to the act of thickening or the resulting thickness; can be used as a noun.
とろみ付けには片栗粉が便利です。
Potato starch is convenient for thickening.
Common starch thickeners used in Japanese cooking.
Potato starch; the most common thickener for sauces and soups in Japanese home cooking.
片栗粉でとろみをつけます。
I'll thicken it with potato starch.
Wheat flour; used as a thickener in roux-based sauces like curry or stew.
Thickening agents used in manufacturing, cosmetics, or non-food contexts.
Same term as in food context, but widely used for industrial thickeners (paints, cosmetics, etc.).
この塗料には増粘剤が含まれています。
This paint contains a thickener.
A more specialized term for viscosity-increasing agents, used in pharmaceuticals or chemistry.
粘稠剤を添加して粘度を調整する。
Adjust the viscosity by adding a thickener.
Describing the action of thickening a liquid.
Most natural way to say 'to thicken' in cooking; literally 'to attach thickness'.
水溶き片栗粉でとろみをつけます。
Thicken with a slurry of potato starch and water.
More formal/technical; 'to increase the concentration/thickness'.
増粘剤で溶液の濃度を上げる。
Increase the thickness of the solution with a thickener.
とろみ is a sensory word for 'thickness' or 'viscosity' often used in cooking, while 濃度 is more scientific (concentration). For everyday cooking, とろみをつける is the most natural expression.
Cornstarch; widely used, often in Western-style dishes or sweets.
コーンスターチでソースを濃くする。
Thicken the sauce with cornstarch.
小麦粉をバターで炒めてとろみの素を作る。
Make a roux by frying flour in butter.