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Bohei

Learn a funny, quirky German word each week with DW's Word of the Week feature. This week: Bohei.

https://p.dw.com/p/Rlnf
Image: BilderBox

"Bohei!" It's not a battle cry, and it's not a Japanese sword fighting technique. In fact, "Bohei" is not much of anything at all. The term refers to those times when a big fuss is made about nothing. Some speculate the word originated from the term "palhe," once used in a dialect spoken by beggars and vagrants. After shifts in pronunciation over time, "palhe" evolved into "Bohei." But if that seems too complicated, don't worry - even Shakespeare can reassure you it's just much "Bohei" about nothing.