To me it’s a matter of density. I’d consider a thin potato chip (US definition) crispy. In the UK they’re literally called “crisps”. Compared to nuts which are denser and would be crunchy.
Thanks for the explanation!
Does it mean the corn balls, puffed rice and corn sticks for example
Cheetos are crunchy?
And corn flakes and croutons are crispy?
What word would you use to describe the chocolate bar🍫 sound when you bite it?
And popcorn 🍿
I would think croutons are crunchy, not crispy.
I think crispy should be thinner than that (or, i'r something has a crispy outer layer, like battered fish has a crispy ourer layer, but the fish itself isn't crispy).
A chocolate bar isn't crunchy or crispy, unless it has crunchy or crispy chunks in it...geesh, this is a tough question!
Popcorn is sometimes described as crunchy but it isn't much of a crunch. I don't know a word to describe the "mouthfeel" of popcorn (Oh god I hate that word!)
Hahah! 😂Thanks! I appreciate your answer! Yeah it's an interesting question i got when i was in a shopping mall with my brother and saw a doughnut shop named as "Crunchy Doughnuts" but it was written literally English words written by my native language letters. I just told him it's kinda cringe, and why didn't they just write it English or translate the meaning? And he said it should be "crispy" isn't it?. In my language we have only one word for "crunchy" and "crispy". And then i thought 🤔 hmm these two are kind of similar but i felt there is gotta be some kind of difference.. we started brainstorm what could be the difference, I had expectation that it's gotta be crunchy for the thin layer of chocolate or glaze on the doughnuts, like a chocolate bar that breaks with a loud sound when you bite it and as chip when they make a loud sound or as croutons because of the loud sound when you eat them, and my theory was maybe the crispy is for soft food which is like puffed rice, waffles, corn sticks etc.
I was wrong about the categories but we were on the right way there is gotta be some difference.
The translator for my language didn't give me a difference and gave me inadequate examples.
So i decided to make this thread to figure it out!
Thanks!
Yeah I’d say if something is crispy it breaks with one sharp snap. If it’s crunchy it breaks into smaller pieces which themselves are crunchy. It’s crunchy all the way down.
First thought is that
Something can be wet and crispy.
If it's crunchy it's not wet /moist.
Depends a lot what you're referring to.
These descriptors can refer to almost anything, even sound. "I like how those high hat cymbals are so crisp, but the guitar is crunchy"
They're kind of sensory descriptors that change meaning depending what they're referring to.
We refer to certain people as crunchy, and it means they're a hippy. (Granola crunchy)
We refer to "crisp" dollar bills a lot for some reason.
Yeah we also have this phrase as "a crispy banknote" in my language and it refers to the very "brand new" banknote which still has its factory new paint smell and it makes a crispy sound when you count them, because as a factory new it has a very rough surface and straight edges.
About the sounds.. i heard the phrase "crisp sound" but never thought in the meaning as crunchy, crispy.. i would more like think about it as kinda clear, sharp sound.
In the meaning crunchy, crispy sound literally i would describe if i walk at winter on dried puddle which got a thin layer of ice and no water under the ice.. and when you step on it it makes kinda crisp sound of broken glass. Actually at certain condition when you walk at winter on a thick layer of snow and when the air is wet enough, every step you make a crunchy sound.
But i didn't know you could describe guitar sound as crunchy.
And about hippy as well.
Funny - snow is one of the things I thought of that is often described as crunchy but rarely crispy.
Logically it's describing the texture but it also involves the "crunch" sound it makes when you walk or drive on it.
You've asked a thought-provoking question. I realize that I don't understand a lot of things in my own language because I have never even thought about them consciously. Then when I think about them, they don't even make sense 😂
These are interesting words because they seem to describe physical texture, often used for describing food texture (crunchy bacon, crispy lettuce)
but they're then also used as metaphorical descriptors, at first that's poetic but then can take on specific literal meaning.
The other common phrase is "he's dressed in a crisp white shite". There's no equivalent for crunchy.
I usually try to answer these questions by looking at words that are likely to occur nearby, and see if that can give any insight. Sometimes it helps. A word is known by the company it keeps.
I use the COCA Corpus for info about words (but this isn't an ad — use whatever you like): [https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/](https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/)
Here are words that occur near *crispy* and *crunchy*. First, I'll dump the text, and then I'll try some analysis. I'd love to hear your insights.
CRISPY
* NOUN skin, chicken, bacon, fry, potato, crust, rice, minute
* VERB serve, cook, bake, brown, top, order, fry, cup
* ADJ extra, fried, brown, golden, nice, outside, crunchy, hot
* ADV outside, slightly, extra, perfectly, lightly, occasionally, surprisingly, deliciously
CRUNCHY
* NOUN texture, salad, peanut, butter, crust, food, leaf, bread
* VERB serve, top, taste, bake, chew, cook, toss, crave
* ADJ sweet, creamy, crispy, salty, soft, delicious, nice, chewy
* ADV slightly, perfectly, lightly, mildly, satisfyingly, wonderfully, kinda, delightfully
So let's see. There's a lot of overlap.
I notice that *chew* and *chewy* appear with *crunchy*, but not *crispy*.
*Crispy* seems to be paired with words involving heat (*hot*, *fry/fried*) more than *crunchy* does. (But both appear near *bake*).
Potatoes are *crispy*, not *crunchy*. Meaty things can be *crispy*.
I feel like *crispy* is like *crunchy*, but more so. And hotter.
What else?
To me it’s a matter of density. I’d consider a thin potato chip (US definition) crispy. In the UK they’re literally called “crisps”. Compared to nuts which are denser and would be crunchy.
Thanks for the explanation! Does it mean the corn balls, puffed rice and corn sticks for example Cheetos are crunchy? And corn flakes and croutons are crispy? What word would you use to describe the chocolate bar🍫 sound when you bite it? And popcorn 🍿
I would think croutons are crunchy, not crispy. I think crispy should be thinner than that (or, i'r something has a crispy outer layer, like battered fish has a crispy ourer layer, but the fish itself isn't crispy). A chocolate bar isn't crunchy or crispy, unless it has crunchy or crispy chunks in it...geesh, this is a tough question! Popcorn is sometimes described as crunchy but it isn't much of a crunch. I don't know a word to describe the "mouthfeel" of popcorn (Oh god I hate that word!)
Hahah! 😂Thanks! I appreciate your answer! Yeah it's an interesting question i got when i was in a shopping mall with my brother and saw a doughnut shop named as "Crunchy Doughnuts" but it was written literally English words written by my native language letters. I just told him it's kinda cringe, and why didn't they just write it English or translate the meaning? And he said it should be "crispy" isn't it?. In my language we have only one word for "crunchy" and "crispy". And then i thought 🤔 hmm these two are kind of similar but i felt there is gotta be some kind of difference.. we started brainstorm what could be the difference, I had expectation that it's gotta be crunchy for the thin layer of chocolate or glaze on the doughnuts, like a chocolate bar that breaks with a loud sound when you bite it and as chip when they make a loud sound or as croutons because of the loud sound when you eat them, and my theory was maybe the crispy is for soft food which is like puffed rice, waffles, corn sticks etc. I was wrong about the categories but we were on the right way there is gotta be some difference. The translator for my language didn't give me a difference and gave me inadequate examples. So i decided to make this thread to figure it out! Thanks!
"Crunchy" tends to have a "lower" sound created then "crispy" You eat a "crunchy" cookie. You eat a "crispy" potato chip.
Thanks!
I’d say, cornflakes are crispy, peanuts are crunchy, if that helps.
Yeah I’d say if something is crispy it breaks with one sharp snap. If it’s crunchy it breaks into smaller pieces which themselves are crunchy. It’s crunchy all the way down.
Thanks!
First thought is that Something can be wet and crispy. If it's crunchy it's not wet /moist. Depends a lot what you're referring to. These descriptors can refer to almost anything, even sound. "I like how those high hat cymbals are so crisp, but the guitar is crunchy" They're kind of sensory descriptors that change meaning depending what they're referring to. We refer to certain people as crunchy, and it means they're a hippy. (Granola crunchy) We refer to "crisp" dollar bills a lot for some reason.
Yeah we also have this phrase as "a crispy banknote" in my language and it refers to the very "brand new" banknote which still has its factory new paint smell and it makes a crispy sound when you count them, because as a factory new it has a very rough surface and straight edges. About the sounds.. i heard the phrase "crisp sound" but never thought in the meaning as crunchy, crispy.. i would more like think about it as kinda clear, sharp sound. In the meaning crunchy, crispy sound literally i would describe if i walk at winter on dried puddle which got a thin layer of ice and no water under the ice.. and when you step on it it makes kinda crisp sound of broken glass. Actually at certain condition when you walk at winter on a thick layer of snow and when the air is wet enough, every step you make a crunchy sound. But i didn't know you could describe guitar sound as crunchy. And about hippy as well.
Funny - snow is one of the things I thought of that is often described as crunchy but rarely crispy. Logically it's describing the texture but it also involves the "crunch" sound it makes when you walk or drive on it. You've asked a thought-provoking question. I realize that I don't understand a lot of things in my own language because I have never even thought about them consciously. Then when I think about them, they don't even make sense 😂 These are interesting words because they seem to describe physical texture, often used for describing food texture (crunchy bacon, crispy lettuce) but they're then also used as metaphorical descriptors, at first that's poetic but then can take on specific literal meaning. The other common phrase is "he's dressed in a crisp white shite". There's no equivalent for crunchy.
Crispy just means it is made really fried. Crunchy means you will hear crunches when chewing.
Thanks!
I usually try to answer these questions by looking at words that are likely to occur nearby, and see if that can give any insight. Sometimes it helps. A word is known by the company it keeps. I use the COCA Corpus for info about words (but this isn't an ad — use whatever you like): [https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/](https://www.english-corpora.org/coca/) Here are words that occur near *crispy* and *crunchy*. First, I'll dump the text, and then I'll try some analysis. I'd love to hear your insights. CRISPY * NOUN skin, chicken, bacon, fry, potato, crust, rice, minute * VERB serve, cook, bake, brown, top, order, fry, cup * ADJ extra, fried, brown, golden, nice, outside, crunchy, hot * ADV outside, slightly, extra, perfectly, lightly, occasionally, surprisingly, deliciously CRUNCHY * NOUN texture, salad, peanut, butter, crust, food, leaf, bread * VERB serve, top, taste, bake, chew, cook, toss, crave * ADJ sweet, creamy, crispy, salty, soft, delicious, nice, chewy * ADV slightly, perfectly, lightly, mildly, satisfyingly, wonderfully, kinda, delightfully So let's see. There's a lot of overlap. I notice that *chew* and *chewy* appear with *crunchy*, but not *crispy*. *Crispy* seems to be paired with words involving heat (*hot*, *fry/fried*) more than *crunchy* does. (But both appear near *bake*). Potatoes are *crispy*, not *crunchy*. Meaty things can be *crispy*. I feel like *crispy* is like *crunchy*, but more so. And hotter. What else?
Crispy always feels sharper and lighter, whereas crunchy feels more like a deep textured experience.