ersatz

\ɛʁ.zats\

/\ɛʁ.zats\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“ersatz” has 9 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #42,862. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#42,862
frequency rank, French
3,255
“E” headwords
9
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Produit utilisé pour en remplacer un autre qui est devenu rare ou qui est considéré comme nocif ou trop coûteux.

Corpus desk

Index FR-ersatz · ersatz · French

ersatz · rank #42,862 · 9 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #42,862
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,255
  • PHOTO-FINISH entreposer

Nearest frequency peer: entreposer (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « ersatz »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « ersatz » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for ersatz
PropertyValue
Headwordersatz
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɛʁ.zats\
Letters6
Frequency rank#42,862
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « ersatz »

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.ersatzse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « entreposer » (#42,861), « Esposito » (#42,863), « esquivé » (#42,864). Parmi 3,255 lemmes en « E », « ersatz » est au #42,862. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around ersatz (IPA \ɛʁ.zats\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #42,862 among 3,255 “E” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

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

  1. 1
    Produit utilisé pour en remplacer un autre qui est devenu rare ou qui est considéré comme nocif ou trop coûteux.
  2. 2
    Mauvaise imitation, substitut approximatif.
  3. 3
    Parodie, caricature.
  4. 4
    Aujourd’hui, s’emploie surtout pour dénigrer un produit de substitution mis sur le marché en raison de son innocuité ou de son faible prix.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ersatz appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. La saccharine est un ersatz du sucre.
  2. En vérité je vous le dis, s’il existe en ce coin reculé de France un seul brasseur qui substitue encore au houblon un ersatz chimique, c'est bien grand malfaiteur, car l’Alsace, à elle seule, regorge en ce moment de houblon au point de ne savoir qu’en faire.

Synonyms

imitationsuccédanépâle copiesimulacre

This word in other languages

ersatz(English)sucedáneo(Español)Surrogat(Deutsch)sucedâneo(Português)

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.

erastz2errsatz1ersattz1ersatzz1ersazt2erssatz1erstaz2esratz2
Edit distance from "ersatz"

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

How do you spell "ersatz"?
"ersatz" is spelled E-R-S-A-T-Z. The IPA pronunciation is \ɛʁ.zats\.
What does "ersatz" mean?
As a noun, "ersatz" means: Produit utilisé pour en remplacer un autre qui est devenu rare ou qui est considéré comme nocif ou trop coûteux.
What are common misspellings of "ersatz"?
Common misspellings include "erastz", "errsatz", "ersattz", "ersatzz", "ersazt". The correct spelling is "ersatz".
How do you pronounce "ersatz"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ersatz" is \ɛʁ.zats\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ersatz" come from?
"ersatz" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ersatz", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

father#42,872femina#42,874ferret#42,876dénués#42,844

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

enjouée9 variantsemotion9 variantsflopée9 variantsdéchue9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list