how to say “superhero” in Hebrew

 

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גִּבּוֹר-עַל
 

 


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I took a course in Jewish education a number of years ago, in which we discussed how to portray the Biblical forefathers to young Jewish students: as superhuman, or as normal, flawed people who nevertheless strove for and achieved greatness.
 
 
 
While the word super itself translates into Hebrew in a number of ways, including אַדִּיר   מְצֻיָּן   and מְעֻלֶּה  , the prefix super- translates into עַל  , and is used in such terms as the following:
 
מַחְשֵׁב-עַל
supercomputer
 
 
עַל-טִבְעִי
supernatural 
 
 
גִּבּוֹר-עַל
superhero
 
 
גיבורת על
 
 
A female superhero is a גִּבּוֹרַת-עַל  .
 
Superman the character remains סוּפֶּרְמֶן   in Hebrew, but the Nietzschean concept of the superman – the Übermensch – is עַל-אָדָם   in Hebrew.
 
The word על itself means up.
 
 

 
 
by Ami SteinbergerFounder and Director, Ulpan La-Inyan
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