Which to use
“sarna” is a noun and “sirva” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,746
- “sarna” frequency rank
- #6,120
- “sirva” frequency rank
- 41866
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sarna | sirva |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Enfermedad de la piel causada por el arador (Sarcoptes scabiei), un ácaro parásito, que penetra y progresa bajo la piel produciendo hinchazones y comezón. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de servir. |
Where the eye mixes sarna and sirva
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. sarna and sirva follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: sarna vs sirva
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sarna is [ˈsaɾna] while sirva is [ˈsiɾβ̞a]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sarna is recorded at frequency rank #35,746, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsaɾna]. sirva is at rank #6,120, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsiɾβ̞a].
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 41866, this pair ranks #151,349 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sarna vs sirva
Shared letters: ars. Private to "sarna": n. Private to "sirva": iv.
"sarna" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "sirva" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sarna" and "sirva" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "sarna" vs "sirva" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sarna" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sirva" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #151,349 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sarna" and "sirva" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sarna vs Syria". 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 #151,349 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.