desservi vs desservir, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“desservi” and “desservir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#26,325
“desservi” frequency rank: #21,592
“desservir” frequency rank: 47917
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	desservi	desservir
Definition	Participe passé masculin singulier de desservir.	Débarrasser une table des plats, assiettes, etc.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set desservi and desservir apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

desservi

9 ch

desservir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. desservi (\de.sɛʁ.vi\) and desservir (\de.sɛʁ.viʁ\) 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 extra letter(s) - “desservi” sits inside “desservir”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47917, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

desservi is recorded at frequency rank #26,325, classified as averb, pronounced \de.sɛʁ.vi\. desservir is at rank #21,592, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.sɛʁ.viʁ\.

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 47917, this pair ranks #183,110 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of desservi vs desservir

Shared letters: deirsv. Private to "desservi": -. Private to "desservir": -.

"desservi" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "desservir" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

desservi ← ddesservi · deservi · desesrvi · desseriv · desserrvi · desservvi · dessevri · dessrevi
desservir ← ddesservir · deservir · desesrvir · desserivr · desserrvir · desservirr · desservri · desservvir

Frequency comparison

desservi#26,325

desservir#21,592

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "desservi" and "desservir" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\de.sɛʁ.vi\ versus \de.sɛʁ.viʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "desservi" or "desservir"?

"desservir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,592 in our French list, against #26,325 for "desservi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering desservi vs desservir

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “desservi” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable