Which to use
“seriös” is an adjective and “servus” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,790
- “seriös” frequency rank
- #18,699
- “servus” frequency rank
- 31489
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | seriös | servus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ordentlich | traditioneller, eher intimer Gruß im bairischen Sprachraum; kann als Begrüßung ebenso wie zur Verabschiedung verwendet werden |
Where the eye mixes seriös and servus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses seriös with servus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: seriös is [zeˈʁi̯øːs] while servus is [ˈseɐ̯vus]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31489, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
seriös is recorded at frequency rank #12,790, classified as anadj, pronounced [zeˈʁi̯øːs]. servus is at rank #18,699, tagged as anintj, pronounced [ˈseɐ̯vus].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 31489, this pair ranks #1,727,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of seriös vs servus
Shared letters: ers. Private to "seriös": iö. Private to "servus": uv.
"seriös" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "servus" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- servus ← esrvus · serrvus · seruvs · servsu · servuss · servvus · sevrus · srevus
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "seriös" for "servus" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "seriös" or "servus" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "seriös" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "servus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,727,076 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "seriös" and "servus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "serious vs servus". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,727,076 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.