desservievsdesservirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,723
“desservie” frequency rank
#21,592
“desservir” frequency rank
51315
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
desservie
9 ch
desservir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. desservie (\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 a single letter - e in “desservie” becomes r in “desservir”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

desservie is recorded at frequency rank #29,723, 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 51315, this pair ranks #155,960 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of desservie vs desservir

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

"desservie" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV  ·  "desservir" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • desservieddesservie · deservie · desesrvie · desserive · desserrvie · desservei · desservvie · dessevrie
  • desservirddesservir · deservir · desesrvir · desserivr · desserrvir · desservirr · desservri · desservvir

Frequency comparison

desservie#29,723
desservir#21,592

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "desservie" 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, "desservie" or "desservir"?
"desservir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,592 in our French list, against #29,723 for "desservie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering desservie 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 “desservie” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list