Which to use
“servían” and “sirvan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,197
- “servían” frequency rank
- #14,713
- “sirvan” frequency rank
- 34910
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | servían | sirvan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de servir. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de servir. |
Where the eye mixes servían and sirvan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. servían runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against sirvan's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses servían with sirvan
A purely visual mix-up. servían ([seɾˈβ̞iãn]) and sirvan ([ˈsiɾβ̞ãn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34910, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
servían is recorded at frequency rank #20,197, classified as averb, pronounced [seɾˈβ̞iãn]. sirvan is at rank #14,713, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsiɾβ̞ãn].
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 34910, this pair ranks #188,895 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of servían vs sirvan
Shared letters: anrsv. Private to "servían": eí. Private to "sirvan": i.
"servían" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "sirvan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sirvan ← cirvan · isrvan · siravn · sirban · sirrvan · sirvann · sirvna · sirvvan
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "servían" and "sirvan" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "servían" vs "sirvan" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "servían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sirvan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #188,895 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "servían" and "sirvan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Servia vs servían". 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 #188,895 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.