sirvenvssurveyConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#3,448
“sirven” frequency rank
#41,088
“survey” frequency rank
44536
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sirven survey
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de servir. Un cuestionario o instrumento similar usado para examinar las opiniones de un grupo de gente, encuesta.

Where the eye mixes sirven and survey

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sirven (CVCCVC) and survey (CVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
sirven
6 ch
survey

Why the eye confuses sirven with survey

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sirven is [ˈsiɾβ̞ẽn] while survey is /ˈsɜː.veɪ/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44536, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sirven is recorded at frequency rank #3,448, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsiɾβ̞ẽn]. survey is at rank #41,088, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɜː.veɪ/.

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 44536, this pair ranks #136,519 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sirven vs survey

Shared letters: ersv. Private to "sirven": in. Private to "survey": uy.

"sirven" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "survey" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sirven ← cirven · isrven · sirben · sirevn · sirrven · sirvenn · sirvne · sirvven
  • survey ← sruvey · ssurvey · surbey · surevy · surrvey · surveyy · survvey · survye

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sirven" and "survey" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sirven" is a verb and "survey" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sirven" or "survey"?
"sirven" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,448 in our Spanish list, against #41,088 for "survey". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sirven" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "survey" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #136,519 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sirven" and "survey" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sure vs survey". 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 #136,519 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list