desservirvsdesservisWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,592
“desservir” frequency rank
#36,793
“desservis” frequency rank
58385
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
desservir
9 ch
desservis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. desservir (\de.sɛʁ.viʁ\) and desservis (\de.sɛʁ.vi\) 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 - r in “desservir” becomes s in “desservis”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

desservir is recorded at frequency rank #21,592, classified as averb, pronounced \de.sɛʁ.viʁ\. 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 58385, this pair ranks #109,368 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of desservir vs desservis

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

"desservir" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "desservis" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • desservirddesservir · deservir · desesrvir · desserivr · desserrvir · desservirr · desservri · desservvir
  • desservisddesservis · deservis · desesrvis · desserivs · desserrvis · desserviss · desservsi · desservvis

Frequency comparison

desservir#21,592
desservis#36,793

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "desservir" and "desservis" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.sɛʁ.viʁ\ versus \de.sɛʁ.vi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "desservir" or "desservis"?
"desservir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,592 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 desservir 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 “desservir” 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