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Scheinheilig

October 4, 2011

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

https://p.dw.com/p/RoyO
Image: Fotolia/Pixelwolf

Scheinheilig means "hypocritical" or "sanctimonious," but the literal translation - "apparently holy, or giving the appearance of being holy" certainly conjures up more visually. Maybe that's because if you turn the words around, you also get a more poignant religious icon: Heiligenschein, which means "halo, nimbus or gloriole."

Either way, just make sure you put on the right hat before you walk out the door.

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