Soups or sopas normally have a transparent liquid base broth (chicken, vegetable, beef, or fish/seafood). You can see the ingredients floating in the soup. A Stew (guiso, guisado) tends to be heartier and thicker. They will still use a broth or stock as its base, but the liquid will not be as fluid as in a soup. Stews tend to cook for longer periods in relation to soup in order to thicken and concentrate the flavors. Chowder a is delicious in between soup and stew, with the exception that it is almost always milk or cream-based and is made of mostly seafood and/or vegetables.