Which to use
“espião” is a noun and “espiar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,286
- “espião” frequency rank
- #39,136
- “espiar” frequency rank
- 52422
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espião | espiar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pessoa empregada por um governo ou companhia para obter informações secretas sobre outro governo ou companhia | observar alguém ou algo esforçando-se para não ser visto |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set espião and espiar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
espião and espiar form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52422, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espião is recorded at frequency rank #13,286, classified as anoun. 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 52422, this pair ranks #12,769 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "espião" and "espiar" be used interchangeably?
Remembering espião vs espiar
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “espião”; for a verb, it's “espiar”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “espião” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable