Which to use
“siervo” is an adjective and “sirvo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,829
- “siervo” frequency rank
- #18,082
- “sirvo” frequency rank
- 38911
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | siervo | sirvo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Persona que trabaja para otro en condición de sometimiento y servidumbre. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de servir. |
Where the eye mixes siervo and sirvo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. siervo runs 6 letters (CVVCCV) against sirvo's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between siervo and sirvo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: siervo is [ˈsjeɾβ̞o] while sirvo is [ˈsiɾβ̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38911, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
siervo is recorded at frequency rank #20,829, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈsjeɾβ̞o]. sirvo is at rank #18,082, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsiɾβ̞o].
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 38911, this pair ranks #167,417 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of siervo vs sirvo
Shared letters: iorsv. Private to "siervo": e. Private to "sirvo": -.
"siervo" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "sirvo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "siervo" and "sirvo" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "siervo" or "sirvo" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "siervo" and "sirvo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "siervo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sirvo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #167,417 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "siervo" and "sirvo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sarro vs sirvo". 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 #167,417 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.