ersatz
\ɛʁ.zats\
The verdict
“ersatz” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #42,862 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #42,862
- frequency rank, French
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Produit utilisé pour en remplacer un autre qui est devenu rare ou qui est considéré comme nocif ou trop coûteux.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | ersatz |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \ɛʁ.zats\ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #42,862 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “ersatz” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for ersatz is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɛʁ.zats\. Corpus data places it at rank #42,862 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for ersatz, with forms such as "erastz", "errsatz", and "ersattz". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is ersatz, spelled E-R-S-A-T-Z.
Definition
- 1Produit utilisé pour en remplacer un autre qui est devenu rare ou qui est considéré comme nocif ou trop coûteux.
- 2Mauvaise imitation, substitut approximatif.
- 3Parodie, caricature.
- 4Aujourd’hui, s’emploie surtout pour dénigrer un produit de substitution mis sur le marché en raison de son innocuité ou de son faible prix.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: erastz,errsatz,ersattz,ersatzz,ersazt,erssatz,erstaz,esratz,resatz
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of ersatz - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “ersatz”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is E-R-S-A-T-Z - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ɛʁ.zats\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.