detective
“detective” means “detective” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:
detective
Also: investigator, private eye
📝 In Action
El detective buscaba pistas en la escena del crimen.
A2The detective was looking for clues at the crime scene.
Contrataron a una detective privada para encontrar a la persona desaparecida.
B1They hired a private detective to find the missing person.
Sherlock Holmes es el detective más famoso de la literatura.
A2Sherlock Holmes is the most famous detective in literature.
detective
📝 In Action
Me encanta leer novelas detectives.
B1I love to read detective novels.
Vimos una película detective anoche.
B1We saw a detective movie last night.
El trabajo detective requiere mucha paciencia.
B2Detective work requires a lot of patience.
Translate to Spanish
✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: detective
Question 1 of 2
Which of these sentences is grammatically correct in Spanish?
📚 More Resources
👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
This word is a direct loan from English 'detective', which appeared in the mid-19th century. The English word itself comes from the Latin verb 'detegere', which means 'to uncover' or 'to expose' (from 'de-' meaning 'un-' and 'tegere' meaning 'to cover').
First recorded: Mid-19th century
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is there any difference between 'detective' and 'investigador'?
They are very similar! 'Detective' usually refers specifically to someone who solves crimes, either for the police or privately. 'Investigador' (investigator) is a broader term. A scientist can be an 'investigador', and so can a journalist. In a crime context, you can often use them interchangeably.
Why doesn't 'detective' change to 'detectiva' for a woman?
Some Spanish nouns that refer to professions and end in '-e' don't change their ending for gender. They are part of a group of words that stay the same for both men and women, like 'estudiante' (student) or 'cantante' (singer). You just change 'el' to 'la' to show you're talking about a woman.