Which to use
“espião” and “espiga” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,286
- “espião” frequency rank
- #36,447
- “espiga” frequency rank
- 49733
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espião | espiga |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pessoa empregada por um governo ou companhia para obter informações secretas sobre outro governo ou companhia | parte das gramíneas que contém os grãos |
Letter map: espião vs espiga
Shared letters muted; letters that set espião and espiga apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.
Pair insight - espião / espiga
espião and espiga are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49733, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espião is recorded at frequency rank #13,286, classified as anoun. espiga is at rank #36,447, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈpi.ɡɐ/.
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 49733, this pair ranks #15,261 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of espião vs espiga
Shared letters: eips. Private to "espião": oã. Private to "espiga": ag.
"espião" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVV · "espiga" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- espiga ← epsiga · esipga · espgia · espiag · espigga · esppiga · esspiga · sepiga
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "espião" and "espiga" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "espião" vs "espiga" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've compared "espião" and "espiga". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "espião" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espiga" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,261 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espião" and "espiga" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espiga 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 #15,261 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.