How to Say "Spying" in Spanish

espionaje

/espjonaxe/from spelling rules

The English phrase spying is translated into Spanish as espionaje.

espionaje is the noun used to refer to the act or practice of spying.

How does it change in a sentence?

espionaje is a masculine noun. It is a noun representing the concept of spying and is not a verb form.

/espjonaxe/

The phrase meter las narices literally means 'to put in one's nostrils' and is a common way to describe spying or poking into someone's business.
Spanish has a specific word fisgonear for a type of spying that means 'to snoop' or 'to pry' into someone's private affairs.
The word espionaje was borrowed directly from the French word espionnage.

Él nunca fue acusado oficialmente por espionaje.
He was never officially charged with spying.
Tatoeba #1312991 by marcelostockle, translation #803244 by Source_VOA
El espionaje es una práctica antigua y compleja
Espionage is an ancient and complex practice
El gobierno utiliza la vigilancia encubierta para recopilar información de inteligencia
The government uses covert surveillance to gather intelligence information
La empresa fue acusada de espiar a sus competidores
The company was accused of spying on its competitors
El agente trabajaba en inteligencia clandestina recopilando datos sobre actividades ilícitas
The agent worked in clandestine intelligence gathering data on illicit activities
Deja de cotillear y ocúpate de tus propios asuntos
Stop nosing around and mind your own business
Los países vecinos se espiaban mutuamente durante la Guerra Fría
Neighboring countries would spy on each other during the Cold War
El gobierno desarticuló una red de espionaje internacional
The government dismantled an international spying network
Las agencias de inteligencia utilizan la vigilancia encubierta para combatir el crimen organizado
Intelligence agencies use covert surveillance to combat organized crime
Deja de cotillear, no te traerá nada bueno
Stop nosing around, it won't bring you anything good
El espionaje industrial es un delito grave.
Industrial spying is a serious crime.
No confío en él por su historial de espionaje.
I don't trust him because of his history of spying.

Elena and Javier are discussing a news report about a political scandal.

Elena

¿Viste la noticia sobre el espionaje?
Did you see the news about the spying?
Javier

Sí, es un escándalo muy grande.
Yes, it is a very big scandal.
Elena

Javier, esto parece algo de una película.
Javier, this looks like something from a movie.
Javier

Cierto, es una situación muy extraña.
True, it is a very strange situation.

Sources

IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries espionaje, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

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