Which to use
“espía” is a verb and “espina” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,796
- “espía” frequency rank
- #12,377
- “espina” frequency rank
- 21173
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espía | espina |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de espiar. | Parte de una hoja, rama o tallo vegetal que se desarrolla alargada con terminación en punta. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set espía and espina apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
espía and espina form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21173, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espía is recorded at frequency rank #8,796, classified as averb, pronounced [esˈpia]. espina is at rank #12,377, tagged as anoun, pronounced [esˈpina].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 21173, this pair ranks #256,077 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "espía" and "espina" be used interchangeably?
Remembering espía vs espina
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “espía”; for a noun, it's “espina”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “espía” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable