servaisvsservisWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: servais is a verb, servis is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“servais” is a verb and “servis” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,367
“servais” frequency rank
#13,062
“servis” frequency rank
43429
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature servais servis
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de servir. Masculin pluriel de servi.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set servais and servis apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
servais
6 ch
servis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

servais and servis form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

servais is recorded at frequency rank #30,367, classified as averb, pronounced \sɛʁ.vɛ\. servis is at rank #13,062, tagged as anadj, pronounced \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 43429, this pair ranks #218,123 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

servais#30,367
servis#13,062

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "servais" and "servis" be used interchangeably?
No, "servais" and "servis" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering servais vs servis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “servais”; for an adjective, it's “servis”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “servais” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list