sei vs sévir, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#36,154
“sei” frequency rank: #30,832
“sévir” frequency rank: 66986
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	sei	sévir
Definition	Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de sein.	Exercer la répression avec rigueur, contre les personnes, leurs actes.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sei and sévir apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

sei

5 ch

sévir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. sei (\zaɪ̯\) and sévir (\se.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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66986, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sei is recorded at frequency rank #36,154, classified as averb, pronounced \zaɪ̯\. sévir is at rank #30,832, tagged as averb, pronounced \se.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 66986, this pair ranks #65,420 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sei vs sévir

Shared letters: is. Private to "sei": e. Private to "sévir": rvé.

"sei" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "sévir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequency comparison

sei#36,154

sévir#30,832

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sei" and "sévir" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "sei" or "sévir"?

"sévir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,832 in our French list, against #36,154 for "sei". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sei vs sévir

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 “sei” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable