Which to use
“espia” is a noun and “espiar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,012
- “espia” frequency rank
- #39,136
- “espiar” frequency rank
- 80148
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espia | espiar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pessoa que observa escondida | observar alguém ou algo esforçando-se para não ser visto |
Where the eye mixes espia and espiar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses espia with espiar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: espia is /iʃ.ˈpi.ɐ/ while espiar is /iʃ.ˈpjaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “espia” sits inside “espiar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80148, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espia is recorded at frequency rank #41,012, classified as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈpi.ɐ/. espiar is at rank #39,136, tagged as averb, pronounced /iʃ.ˈpjaɾ/.
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 80148, this pair ranks #1,375 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of espia vs espiar
Shared letters: aeips. Private to "espia": -. Private to "espiar": r.
"espia" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV · "espiar" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "espia" and "espiar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "espia" or "espiar"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "espia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espiar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,375 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espia" and "espiar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espia vs espinal". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,375 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.