Although both “super” and “superb” are common, they are not entirely interchangeable. In this Ed’s Elevenses blog post, we will look at the difference between these two words, and explain which of them is correct to use and when. I hope you won’t be confused by them again after reading this post!
Waiter: “Do you like our new menu?”
Pablo: “Yeah, it’s superb. The chicken was super tasty!”
When Pablo said the menu was superb (i.e., an adjective), he meant the food was very good, excellent or wonderful.
David Bowie gave a superb performance in 1985.
➡️ David Bowie gave an excellent performance in 1985.
The beautiful weather offers a superb opportunity for having a picnic.
➡️ The beautiful weather offers a perfect opportunity for having a picnic.
Now, Pablo complimented the chef by saying the chicken was super tasty. Here, as an adverb, super means very or particularly.
Amy is a super talented singer!
➡️ Amy is a really talented singer!
Justin drew a super ugly portrait of himself.
➡️ Justin drew a very ugly portrait of himself.
In an informal situation, for example, when two friends are chatting with each other, super, as an adjective, means extremely good or very nice.
“We are both going to the party.”—“Super!”
➡️ “Very nice!”
“How was the party?”—“Oh, we had a super time!”
➡️ “Oh, we had an extremely good time!”
However, I need to point out that “super” in this sense may be falling out of use; in most cases, it would be fine to substitute “superb” for it:
✅ “We are both going to the party.”—“Superb!”
✅ “How was the party?”—“Oh, we had a superb time!”
Super…as a prefix
I believe you might have heard of “superman”, “supercomputer”, “supernatural” and so on. Here, super acts as a prefix to indicate that something is at a higher level than something else:
Man ➡️ Superman
= a man with extreme physical and mental powers
Computer ➡️ Supercomputer
= a powerful computer that can process large amounts of data in a very short time
Natural ➡️ Supernatural
= entities, forces, and events that are impossible according to mainstream science
Superb…as an adverb
When we want to use “superb” as an adverb, we have to add “-ly” and make it “superbly”.
The same goes with the definition: from very good, excellent or wonderful to very well, excellently or wonderfully.
Since “super” is an adverb as well, let’s consider the following again:
Amy is a super talented singer!
✅ Amy is a really talented singer!
✅ Amy is a superbly talented singer!
Justin drew a super ugly portrait of himself.
✅ Justin drew a very ugly portrait of himself.
❌ Justin drew a superbly ugly portrait of himself.
Unlike “super”, “superbly” is only used when we are talking about something positive; therefore, we can say “super ugly” but not “superbly ugly”.
It is super easy to tell the difference between “super” and “superb”, isn’t it? Agreed? Superb!
If you are confused by any other words (or, still, these two), feel free to ask me for guidance in the comments or on the socials.
Edison Tam MA MCIL CL is a Translator, Proofreader, and Copyeditor (zh-hk/en) who works with students, independent non-fiction writers, academic researchers, and clients from businesses and organisations of all sizes.
He is Chartered Linguist and Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), and has undergone wide-ranging academic training in Business, Modern Languages, and Applied Linguistics in Hong Kong, London, and Barcelona.
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