ersatz
er·satz/ˈɛəɹsɑts/adjective, noun
ersatz is spelled E-R-S-A-T-Z: 6 letters and 2 syllables (er·satz). It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 63,645th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ersatz means “An inauthentic or inadequate substitute or imitation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ersatz?
| Letters | 6: E-R-S-A-T-Z |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: er·satz |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 63,645th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ersatz?
Ersatz appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 63,645th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ersatz?
- UK /ˈɛəzæts/
- /ˈɜːsæts/
- US /ˈɛəɹsɑts/
Ersatz has 2 syllables, split er·satz in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ersatz.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ersatz
- more ersatz comparative
- most ersatz superlative
- ersatzes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ersatz mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
An inauthentic or inadequate substitute or imitation.
Back then, we could only get ersatz coffee.
noun
- 1
Something made in imitation; an effigy or substitute.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ersatz in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense imitation:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ersatz come from?
Borrowed from German Ersatz (“replacement, substitute”), a back-formation from ersetzen (“to replace, to substitute”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).