Which to use
“espía” is a verb and “espino” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,796
- “espía” frequency rank
- #27,982
- “espino” frequency rank
- 36778
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espía | espino |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de espiar. | (Crataegus spp.) Nombre dado a unas doscientas especies de árboles y arbustos, de la familia de las Rosáceas y género Crataegus, que se encuentran en zonas frías de Europa, Norteamérica y Asia. Tienen ramas espinosas, flores blancas o rosadas, y decorativos frutos con forma de bayas rojas que aparecen en otoño y permanecen en el árbol durante el invierno, lo que los convierte en apreciadas plantas de jardín. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set espía and espino apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
espía and espino 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 36778, 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]. espino is at rank #27,982, tagged as anoun, pronounced [esˈpino].
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 36778, this pair ranks #178,828 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "espía" and "espino" be used interchangeably?
Remembering espía vs espino
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 “espino”.
- 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