desservi vs desservis, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#26,325
“desservi” frequency rank: #36,793
“desservis” frequency rank: 63118
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	desservi	desservis
Definition	Participe passé masculin singulier de desservir.	Participe passé masculin pluriel de desservir.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch

desservi

9 ch

desservis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. desservi and desservis are pronounced identically (\de.sɛʁ.vi\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “desservi” sits inside “desservis”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63118, 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\. desservis is at rank #36,793, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.sɛʁ.vi\.

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 63118, this pair ranks #83,659 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of desservi vs desservis

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

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

Known mistypes of this pair

desservi ← ddesservi · deservi · desesrvi · desseriv · desserrvi · desservvi · dessevri · dessrevi
desservis ← ddesservis · deservis · desesrvis · desserivs · desserrvis · desserviss · desservsi · desservvis

Frequency comparison

desservi#26,325

desservis#36,793

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

No. They are pronounced the same (\de.sɛʁ.vi\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.

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

"desservi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,325 in our French list, against #36,793 for "desservis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering desservi vs desservis

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