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
general
Added 2026.4.3 2:27
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