sirvesvssirvióConfusable pair

Which to use

“sirves” and “sirvió” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#41,639
“sirves” frequency rank
#5,158
“sirvió” frequency rank
46797
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sirves sirvió
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de servir. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de servir.

Where the eye mixes sirves and sirvió

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

6 ch
sirves
6 ch
sirvió

Why the eye confuses sirves with sirvió

A purely visual mix-up. sirves ([ˈsiɾβ̞es]) and sirvió ([siɾˈβ̞jo]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sirves is recorded at frequency rank #41,639, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsiɾβ̞es]. sirvió is at rank #5,158, tagged as averb, pronounced [siɾˈβ̞jo].

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 46797, this pair ranks #123,671 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sirves vs sirvió

Shared letters: irsv. Private to "sirves": e. Private to "sirvió": ó.

"sirves" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "sirvió" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sirves ← cirves · isrves · sirbes · sirevs · sirrves · sirvess · sirvse · sirvves

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sirves" and "sirvió" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsiɾβ̞es] versus [siɾˈβ̞jo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sirves" vs "sirvió" - which ranks higher?
"sirvió" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,158 in our Spanish list, against #41,639 for "sirves". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "sirves" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sirvió" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #123,671 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sirves" and "sirvió" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sirias vs sirves". 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 #123,671 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