superman
/ˈs(j)uːpəmæn/
"superman" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“superman” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,966 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #6,966
- frequency rank, English
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 5
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An imagined superior type of human being representing a new stage of human development; an übermensch, an overman.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | superman |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈs(j)uːpəmæn/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #6,966 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 5 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “superman” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for superman is 8 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈs(j)uːpəmæn/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,966 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for superman, with forms such as "spuerman", "ssuperman", and "sueprman". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "Sherman", "supercar", "Suleiman", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: A calque of German Übermensch; super- + man. The German word was introduced by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) in his work Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 1883), and rendered in English as superman by Irish playwright George… The correct English form is superman, spelled S-U-P-E-R-M-A-N.
Definition
- 1An imagined superior type of human being representing a new stage of human development; an übermensch, an overman.
- 2A man of extraordinary or seemingly superhuman powers.
Etymology
A calque of German Übermensch; super- + man. The German word was introduced by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) in his work Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 1883), and rendered in English as superman by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) in the play Man and Superman (1903) and by Thomas Common (1850–1919) in his 1909 translation of Nietzsche’s work. Some scholars regard this word as not properly conveying the meaning of Übermensch, and prefer to use the German word or overman. The “person of extraordinary powers” sense was reinforced by the DC Comics’ character Superman, who first appeared in Action Comics #1 dated June 1938.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: spuerman,ssuperman,sueprman,supemran,superamn,supermann,supermman,supermna,superrman,supperman,supreman,usperman
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of superman - 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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “superman”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-P-E-R-M-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈs(j)uːpəmæn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Sherman” - see the side-by-side comparison. superman vs Sherman
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English 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.