sartavssirvaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sarta is a noun, sirva is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sarta” is a noun and “sirva” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,068
“sarta” frequency rank
#6,120
“sirva” frequency rank
47188
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sarta sirva
Definition Conjunto de elementos insertados uno a tras otro en un hilo, cuerda, collar, etc. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de servir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sarta and sirva apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
sarta
5 ch
sirva

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sarta is [ˈsaɾt̪a] 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 47188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sarta is recorded at frequency rank #41,068, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsaɾt̪a]. 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 47188, this pair ranks #121,444 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sarta vs sirva

Shared letters: ars. Private to "sarta": t. Private to "sirva": iv.

"sarta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "sirva" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sartaasrta · sarat · sarrta · sartta · satra · srata · ssarta
  • sirvacirva · isrva · sirav · sirba · sirrva · sirvva · sivra · sriva

Frequency comparison

sarta#41,068
sirva#6,120

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sarta" and "sirva" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sarta" is a noun and "sirva" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sarta" or "sirva"?
"sirva" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,120 in our Spanish list, against #41,068 for "sarta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sarta vs sirva

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “sarta”; for a verb, it's “sirva”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sarta” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list