Translation guide
A person who works secretly for a government or organization to gather information or carry out covert operations.
彼はスパイです。
He is a secret agent.
A person employed by a government agency to secretly collect information or conduct operations.
The most common and direct translation. Used for both professional and amateur contexts. Can be used for any nationality.
彼はスパイとして逮捕された。
He was arrested as a spy.
スパイ映画が好きです。
I like spy movies.
A formal term for an intelligence agent. Often used in official or military contexts.
彼は政府の諜報員だ。
He is a government intelligence agent.
Literally 'secret intelligence agent'. Emphasizes the covert nature. Rarely used in everyday speech.
秘密諜報員が敵地に潜入した。
A secret agent infiltrated enemy territory.
A person who works undercover, often in law enforcement or private investigation, pretending to be someone else to gather information.
Refers specifically to an undercover investigator, often police or law enforcement. Not typically used for foreign spies.
潜入捜査官が組織に潜入した。
An undercover agent infiltrated the organization.
Specifically an agent who acts as a decoy or bait in sting operations.
おとり捜査官が違法取引を摘発した。
The undercover agent busted the illegal deal.
A glamorous or heroic secret agent as depicted in movies, novels, or games, like James Bond.
Often used in fiction to refer to members of secret intelligence agencies. Sounds dramatic and official.
彼は秘密諜報部員として世界中を飛び回る。
He travels the world as a secret agent.
Borrowed from English 'agent'. Common in spy fiction and games. Often used with a code number.
エージェント007が任務を遂行する。
Agent 007 carries out the mission.
スパイ is the general term for spy, used in everyday conversation and media. 諜報員 is more formal and often used in official or military contexts. For undercover police, use 潜入捜査官.
スパイ容疑で逮捕された。
Arrested on suspicion of being a spy.
彼は軍の諜報員だった。
He was a military intelligence agent.
The literal translation 秘密の代理人 (himitsu no dairinin) is not used for spies. It would mean a secret representative or proxy, not a secret agent.
スパイが暗号文を送信した。
The secret agent transmitted the coded message.
彼女は戦時中に諜報員として採用された。
She was recruited as a secret agent during the war.