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 |
Letter map: espião vs espiar
Shared letters muted; letters that set espião and espiar apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.
Role in the sentence - espião and espiar
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: espião is anoun and espiaraverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. 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.
Orthographic DNA of espião vs espiar
Shared letters: eips. Private to "espião": oã. Private to "espiar": ar.
"espião" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVV · "espiar" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- espiar ← epsiar · esipar · espair · espiarr · espira · esppiar · esspiar · sepiar
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "espião" and "espiar" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "espião" or "espiar" show up more?
After this comparison
Pair "espião" vs "espiar" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "espião" 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 #12,769 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espião" and "espiar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espiar 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 #12,769 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.