how to say “brilliant” in Hebrew
מַבְרִיק
The Hebrew word for lightning – or a sparkle of light – is בָּרָק (bah-RAHK). It’s also the name of a hero in סֵפֶר שׁוֹפְטִים (SEH-fehr shoh-feh-TEEM) – the Book of Judges – as well as the current American president.
Something shining in such a way as to describe it as brilliant is called, in Hebrew, מַבְרִיק (mahv-REEK) – an adjective deriving from the active-causative הפעיל form.
A couple of examples:
זֶה רַעֲיוֹן מבריק (zeh rah-ah-YOHN mahv-REEK) – that’s a brilliant idea;
הִיא בֶּן אָדָם מבריק (hoo ben ah-DAHM mahv-REEK) – she’s a brilliant person (note מבריק is used in the masculine, since it describes the word אדם, a masculine word used to refer to people of both genders.)
Counter-intuitively, מבריק is not related to the English word maverick. Sorry to disappoint…
