What is a "hero"?

[Ooooops]

C'mon, ppl, don't be so negative!       How about "you are my hero!" and bam! damsel faints in firm grip of foreign knight. 

[mendeleyev]

Ooooops, agreed.

It is nice to see you posting! Sit down and lets make some tea. There is a new box of chocolates in that cabinet to your left...

[Ooooops]

Thank you, Mendeleev.   You are my hero!   

[ML]

Ooooops my dear, Mendy is a piker with his tea and chocolates.

I will participate in a weight lifting exercise with you, do Pilates with you, take you dancing, with later ice cream, and an evening walk along our river trail . . . and then tea and chocolates.

Also, where have you been so long????

[Muzh]

I have been here in Ukraine for 2 weeks now.  Many times now, I have heard women use the word hero.  Various women from all aspects of life.  Even if they know very little English, "hero" seems to be one of the words they all know.

In English, a hero is someone who saves others from a terrible situation.  Ukrainian women are using the word hero in a different sense.  I get the impression that a "hero" to a Ukrainian woman is someone who stands strong in the face of adversity.  Is this the correct meaning?

What does "hero" mean to a FSU woman?

If a Ukrainian woman calls a man a hero, is this a casual compliment, or is this a compliment of very high respect?

 

[ML]

PS - If you hear "heroy" rather than "geroy" (very subtle, many foreigners would not hear the difference), it means they think you are a (pardon the expression), dick.

Ochka says dick would be pronounced her-oy.

But she also professes to be no expert on such words and they aren't used in her family and friends.

I told her there are probably a dozen or more words for dick and pussy in Ukrainian language, but she claims to not know them.

[Boethius]

Ochka says dick would be pronounced her-oy.

But she also professes to be no expert on such words and they aren't used in her family and friends.

I told her there are probably a dozen or more words for dick and pussy in Ukrainian language, but she claims to not know them.

My mother claimed the same thing.  They weren't used in our family, but she still knew them, even if she refused to use them.     None were used in the better half's family either, and I know for a fact neither of his Grandmothers knew such language. 

[GQBlues]

...If a Ukrainian woman calls a man a hero, is this a casual compliment, or is this a compliment of very high respect?

Don't listen to the naysayers. The only reason why they've never heard of any ladies in Ukraine use this word is simply because they ain't you, man. Yeah. That's it....

It's got to be the cape...You fly like a bee and sting like a butterfly in their eyes!

Captain Pollinator (or is it - pollinater. Nah, doesn't matter. I can visualize the image, bro...

Angel's Flight pants, Elvis sequined sunglasses, tight polyester shirt-unbuttoned midway, and a gold medallion resting on your oh-so-hairy chest.

Maybe when you get home you can audition to be part of a super group of Mystery Men, ala the Avengers, except the B-rated version.


"We're the 'other' guys!"

[Ooooops]

We've RVing around Europe for couple of months, so I was off my Inet addiction for a while.   


And dick is "хер" in Russian, not sure about Ukrainian though.

[Boethius]

Same in Ukrainian, but the context is a wordplay.  If one were called a "hero" once, I wouldn't draw any negative conclusion.  Weird, unique, but who knows?  However, if it is heard continuously .  .  .

[Daveman]

We've RVing around Europe for couple of months, so I was off my Inet addiction for a while.   


And dick is "хер" in Russian, not sure about Ukrainian though.

Wellllll now, I don't think I'll be asking for a xep cut any time soon... 

[Boethius]

We're Slavs!  We don't believe in xep cuts.

[Ooooops]

Naughty naughty!   

[Shadow]

Ochka says dick would be pronounced her-oy.

But she also professes to be no expert on such words and they aren't used in her family and friends.

I told her there are probably a dozen or more words for dick and pussy in Ukrainian language, but she claims to not know them.

I know Dick is another name for Richard and a pussy is a small female cat, why should there be lots of variants for those words ? 

[Bee Farmer]

Somehow, I doubt this crowd would believe me if I said the "hero" comments were influenced by my prominent third leg...

In all seriousness, to make a long story short, a day and a half before I was to fly to Ukraine I ended up breaking 3 bones in my foot. Being the stubborn Midwestern redneck that I am, I wasn't about to cancel a 3 week trip to Ukraine over a minor inconvenience like hobbling around on crutches.

But for some reason a non-Russian speaking guy in Ukraine with crutches and a cast on his foot attracts attention here. I've had a handful of people inquire what happened, and if it happened here in Ukraine. When they find out that I broke my foot in America and still came here for almost 3 weeks, they get an amazed look on their face and often say "you hero".

I was just curious what exactly they meant. (And I wasn't going to risk offending them by asking them what they meant.) I suspected it simply meant that I stayed strong in the face of adversity. I knew it didn't mean the usual definition of a hero as someone who rescues others from a bad situation.

[mendeleyev]

I suspected it simply meant that I stayed strong in the face of adversity.

I suspect you are correct.

What we must remember is that English is not their first language and if spoken at all, often they're using words they know even if other phrases common to us might be more accurate.

[GQBlues]

3 broken bones in your foot?!? You call that *adversity*? The fact you're actually fit to travel so you won't miss the 'bee convention' tells me that's hardly *adversity* in my book. In an era where amputees run marathon, LOL, 3 broken bones is akin to breaking a fingernail these days, man.

Stayed strong in the face of adversity!!! Yeah man, you're a hero alright.

Which one broke anyway? The big toe and or the teeny weeny one? You sure it isn't the toe nail, no?

I think you're much too caught up in some silly personal drama in your mind, dude. How'bout a violin soundtrack in the background?

 

[CanadaMan]

...When they find out that I broke my foot in America and still came here for almost 3 weeks, they get an amazed look on their face and often say "you hero".

 

Well why the heck didn't you fill us in with this tidbit of information when you asked your first question in the title?
You basically answered your own question with this last post.

[CanadaMan]

...  If one were called a "hero" once, I wouldn't draw any negative conclusion.  Weird, unique, but who knows?  However, if it is heard continuously .  .  .

It's exactly the same in English and I suspect in all languages.   

[die_cast]

I suspected it simply meant that I stayed strong in the face of adversity.

They just meant you are a brave man.

[ghost of moon goddess]

...
What we must remember is that English is not their first language and if spoken at all, often they're using words they know even if other phrases common to us might be more accurate.

Today, the word ''герой'' is spread (especially among FSU youth) in informal speech, it is used as an exclamation to express a speaker's approval of someone. ''You hero!'' exclaimed by a FSU with limited English proficiency usually ''translates'' as ''Respect to you!''. Nothing more and nothing less.

Bee Farmer, indeed people admired your resolve, for they realized it did take firm determination and real grit for you to cross the ocean and attend the event despite freshly broken bones in your feet. But, because of a limited amount of English they could speak,  they ''opted'' for this simple and well known in the FSU English word ''hero'' which, they believed, would be appropriate to convey what they actually meant.

[Ooooops]

Today, the word ''герой'' is spread (especially among FSU youth) in informal speech, it is used as an exclamation to express a speaker's approval of someone.

Really?   Back when I was a USSR youth phrase "ну ты герооооой" meant exactly opposite. 

[missAmeno]

Богатырь translates also as hero.

[ghost of moon goddess]

Really?   Back when I was a USSR youth phrase "ну ты герооооой" meant exactly opposite. 

Depending on the context even the phrase  ''how I love you!'' could be verbal irony 

[Bee Farmer]

3 broken bones in your foot?!? You call that *adversity*? The fact you're actually fit to travel so you won't miss the 'bee convention' tells me that's hardly *adversity* in my book. In an era where amputees run marathon, LOL, 3 broken bones is akin to breaking a fingernail these days, man.

Stayed strong in the face of adversity!!! Yeah man, you're a hero alright.

Which one broke anyway? The big toe and or the teeny weeny one? You sure it isn't the toe nail, no?

I think you're much too caught up in some silly personal drama in your mind, dude. How'bout a violin soundtrack in the background?

GQ, when you make condescending posts such as this, do you realize that you are only reinforcing the perception that you are a typical second rate MOB'er?  Is that really the perception you want to convey?

To the FSU ladies who responded - thank you.