espiar
Spanish, verb/esˈpjaɾ/
espiar is spelled E-S-P-I-A-R (6 letters) and appears 2.9 times per million words in written Spanish, the 17,619th most frequent Spanish word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Espiar is a Spanish verb meaning “to spy, to spy on (act as a spy)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) defines it as “Observar disimuladamente y en secreto lo que alguien hace”.
What does espiar mean in English?
verb
- 1
to spy, to spy on (act as a spy)
Source: English Wiktionary, Spanish section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Spanish dictionaries define it
verb: 1. Observar disimuladamente y en secreto lo que alguien hace. 2. En particular, espiar para obtener información. 3. Ansiar, anhelar.
verb: 1. Halar de un cabo firme en una ancla, noray u otro objeto fijo, para hacer caminar la nave en dirección al mismo.
The definition in the Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), in Spanish.
Source: Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of espiar
- espío first-person present singular
- espié first-person preterite singular
- espiado participle past
- i-í alternation
- espiando gerund
- espiada feminine participle past
- espiados masculine participle past
- espiadas feminine participle past
- espías indicative informal present
- espiás indicative informal present
- espía indicative present singular
- espiamos first-person indicative plural
- espiáis indicative plural present
- espían indicative plural present
- espiaba first-person imperfect indicative
- espiabas imperfect indicative second-person
- espiábamos first-person imperfect indicative
- espiabais imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce espiar?
- /esˈpjaɾ/
- [esˈpjaɾ]
- [espiˈaɾ]
Sources: English Wiktionary, Spanish Wiktionary (Wikcionario) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to espiar
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is espiar in Spanish?
espiar appears 2.9 times per million words in written Spanish.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).