密 偵(みってい)

みってい

noun

spy; secret agent; informer

1. spy; secret agent; informer

A person who secretly gathers information, especially for a government, military, or police organization. Often used in historical contexts for undercover agents during the feudal and early modern periods.

密偵(みってい)を送(おく)り込(こ)んだ。

They sent in a spy.

彼(かれ)は敵(てき)の密偵(みってい)だった。

He was an enemy spy.

幕府(ばくふ)は各地(かくち)に密偵(みってい)を放(はな)って、反乱(はんらん)の動(うご)きを監視(かんし)していた。

The shogunate dispatched spies throughout the land to monitor rebellious movements.

Compound of 密(みつ) (secret) and 偵(てい) (spy, scout). Has a literary and historical flavor, often appearing in period dramas, historical fiction, and detective stories.

Common collocations

密偵(みってい)を送(おく)る: to send a spy
密偵(みってい)を放(はな)つ: to dispatch a spy
密偵(みってい)を送(おく)り込(こ)む: to plant a spy
密偵(みってい)活動(かつどう): espionage activities

Similar words

スパイ: spy — the modern loanword, used for contemporary espionage
忍者(にんじゃ): ninja — feudal Japanese covert agent, distinct role from 密偵(みってい)
諜報員(ちょうほういん): intelligence agent — formal term for a modern intelligence operative
内通者(ないつうしゃ): informant, mole — someone who secretly passes information from within an organization

Related Words

Compare: スパイ (spy)

Compare: 忍者(にんじゃ) (ninja)

Compare: 諜報員(ちょうほういん) (intelligence agent)

Compare: 内通者(ないつうしゃ) (informant, mole)

general

Added 2026.4.3 2:27 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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