

The entities attacking Nerv and attempting to reach Lilith are universally
referred to as "Angels" in the English dubs, subs and translations of the NGE
manga.

In Japanese, the opening song ("Cruel Angel's Thesis") does refer to _tenshi_
(天使) which translates smoothly into "angel" in English (literally "heavenly
messenger"), however this term does not seem to appear in the TV series, EoE,
Rebuild movies or manga. So what Japanese term(s) are used to describe them,
what do they mean, and why were they translated as "angels" for Anglo
audiences?


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question
japanese-language neon-genesis-evangelion
What are the "Angels" called in the original Japanese version?


These organisms are categorized as
**[「使徒」](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BD%BF%E5%BE%92_\(%E6%96%B0%E4%B8%96%E7%B4%80%E3%82%A8%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B2%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AA%E3%83%B3\))(
_shito_ ) meaning "apostle"** in [Japanese
sources](http://note.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/detail/n157538). _Shito_ is the
word used in the Japanese translation of the Christian Bible to refer to
people who possess the [spiritual gift of
Apostle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_gift#Descriptions) (this
differs from the word used to describe all of Jesus' followers, which is 「弟子」
[ _deshi_ ], the same word used for disciples of Confucius and other renowned
historical figures).

Curiously, according to [Evangelion
Wiki](http://evangelion.wikia.com/wiki/Angel#cite_note-6),

> The collective grouping has no unique canonical name, although the phrase
> "Adam's children" was used by Misato in a preliminary draft for Episode 25'

written as
[「アダムの子供達」](http://evangelion.wikia.com/wiki/Angel#Adam.27s_Children) ( _Adamu
no Kodomotachi_ ), meaning "children of Adam."

According to [evageeks.org](http://wiki.evageeks.org/Angels#Translation),

> the word "Angel" was retained in the English version of the show at the
> request of the show's Japanese creators

but they provide no citation for this claim. They note that in [an early
proposal
pitch](http://wiki.evageeks.org/Neon_Genesis_Evangelion_Proposal#Apostolos),
the word 「アポストロ」( _aposutoro_ ) was suggested.

While apostles are clearly human whereas angels are supernatural, the word
"apostle" is derived from the Greek word [ἀπόστολος ( _apóstolos_
)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostle_\(Christian\)#Background) which means
"messenger" (broken apart is "from" + "I send"). The Japanese「使徒」( _shito_ )
broken apart is "messenger" + "person" (same _kanji_ as「使う」[ _tsukau_ ]
meaning "use" or "speak"). The special ability of Apostle allows the wielder
to go to a new place, preach the Good News there, and plant new church
communities with more ease than another disciple who doesn't possess that
gifting would be able to do. The English word "angel" is derived from the
Greek [ἄγγελος ( _ángelos_ )](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel#Etymology)
meaning "messenger." As you note, the Japanese 「天使」( _tenshi_ ) is literally
"heaven" + "messenger." So etymologically we see that the Japanese
words「使徒」and 「天使」 both show the idea of sent-ness for the purpose of
delivering a message.


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