Spanish Conversation · Level 21
90 words
Spanish word
espía
Pronunciation
IPA/esˈpia/
Meaning
- noun (m./f.)spy
Example
El espía habló con su contacto.
The spy talked with his contact.
More examples
El contacto confesó que trabajaba para un espía.
The contact confessed that he worked for a spy.
Core concept
Person peering from behind a curtain.
Common phrases
contacto del espía
spy's contact
informar sobre el espía
report on the spy
espía profesional
professional spy
Similar words
agente: Carries out assigned missions for an organization or government, often with official authority.
detective: Investigates crimes or incidents, searching for clues and evidence to solve them.
informante: Secretly passes information from inside a group to an outside party.
Definition in Spanish
Persona que observa o recoge información en secreto para otra persona, organización o gobierno.
Word origin
The noun derives from the verb espiar and via Old French espier/espion from Latin specio 'to look'.
Usage tips
- Espía normally implies secret intelligence gathering for another person, organization, or government, so a private investigator is usually called detective rather than espía.