sirvesvssirvoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#41,639
“sirves” frequency rank
#18,082
“sirvo” frequency rank
59721
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sirves sirvo
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de servir. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de servir.

Where the eye mixes sirves and sirvo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sirves runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against sirvo's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
sirves
5 ch
sirvo

Visual trap between sirves and sirvo

A purely visual mix-up. sirves ([ˈsiɾβ̞es]) and sirvo ([ˈsiɾβ̞o]) 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 59721, 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]. 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 59721, this pair ranks #61,569 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sirves vs sirvo

Shared letters: irsv. Private to "sirves": e. Private to "sirvo": o.

"sirves" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "sirvo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sirves ← cirves · isrves · sirbes · sirevs · sirrves · sirvess · sirvse · sirvves
  • sirvo ← cirvo · isrvo · sirbo · sirov · sirrvo · sirvvo · sivro · srivo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sirves" for "sirvo" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsiɾβ̞es] versus [ˈsiɾβ̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sirves" vs "sirvo" - which ranks higher?
"sirvo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,082 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.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sirves" 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 #61,569 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sirves" and "sirvo" 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 #61,569 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