zombi

\zɔ̃.bi\

/\zɔ̃.bi\/ noun

The verdict

“zombi” is uncommon French (frequency #71,197 among 240 “Z” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#71,197
frequency rank, French
240
“Z” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Variante orthographique de zombie.

Corpus desk

Index FR-zombi · zombi · French

zombi · rank #71,197 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #71,197
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 240
  • PHOTO-FINISH zin

Nearest frequency peer: zin (-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.

Rangs de longue queue près de « zombi »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « zombi » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for zombi
PropertyValue
Headwordzombi
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\zɔ̃.bi\
Letters5
Frequency rank#71,197
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « zombi » en français

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).zombitombe dans cette queue de rareté:

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

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Voisins rares de la même bande: « zin » (#71,196), « échangeable » (#71,199), « échue » (#71,200). Parmi 240 lemmes en « Z », « zombi » est au #71,197. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

zombi is uncommon French at frequency #71,197 among 240 “Z” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed \zɔ̃.bi\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Variante orthographique de zombie.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for zombi, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is zombi, spelled Z-O-M-B-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    Variante orthographique de zombie.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Trois condamnés se trouvaient là également, assis par terre, prostrés, silencieux : ils s’étaient levés, avec des gestes lourds de zombis, pour écouter l’annonce, pendus aux lèvres du speaker en gros plan gigantesque sur l’écran de six mètres sur cinq dressé à l’extrémité du stade.
  2. On ne trouve pas de zombi à tous les coins des rues, comme on ne fait pas des zombis dans tous les hounfor. Même s’ils font partie du quotidien avec ce fond de légendes et de pratiques magico-religieuses, les zombis restent rares et « ce n’est pas souvent que ça marche » […].

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 "zombi"?
"zombi" is spelled Z-O-M-B-I. The IPA pronunciation is \zɔ̃.bi\.
What does "zombi" mean?
As a noun, "zombi" means: Variante orthographique de zombie.
How do you pronounce "zombi"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "zombi" is \zɔ̃.bi\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "zombi" come from?
"zombi" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 "zombi", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list