espionage
/ˈɛs.pi.əˌnɑːʒ/
"espionage" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“espionage” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,605 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #15,605
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act or process of learning secret information through clandestine means.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | espionage |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɛs.pi.əˌnɑːʒ/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #15,605 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “espionage” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for espionage is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɛs.pi.əˌnɑːʒ/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,605 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "The act or process of learning secret information through clandestine means.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for espionage, with forms such as "epsionage", "esiponage", and "espinoage". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Recorded since 1793, from French espionnage, from espionner (“to spy”), from Middle French espionner (“to spy”), from espion (“spy”), from Old French espion (“spy”), from Frankish *spehō (“spy”), from Frankish *spehōn (“to spy”), from Proto-Germanic *spehōn… The correct English form is espionage, spelled E-S-P-I-O-N-A-G-E.
Definition
- 1The act or process of learning secret information through clandestine means.
Etymology
Recorded since 1793, from French espionnage, from espionner (“to spy”), from Middle French espionner (“to spy”), from espion (“spy”), from Old French espion (“spy”), from Frankish *spehō (“spy”), from Frankish *spehōn (“to spy”), from Proto-Germanic *spehōną (“to spy, peek, peer”). In modern times, the French pronunciation of the s, which had fallen silent since the 13th century, was restored due to the influence of Italian spione (“spy”), and was therefore also adopted by the English. More at spy.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: epsionage,esiponage,espinoage,espioange,espionaeg,espionagge,espiongae,espionnage,espoinage,esppionage,esspionage,sepionage
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of espionage - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "espionage"?
What does "espionage" mean?
What are common misspellings of "espionage"?
How do you pronounce "espionage"?
What is the origin of the word "espionage"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “espionage”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is E-S-P-I-O-N-A-G-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɛs.pi.əˌnɑːʒ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.