German word

Tabu

Pronunciation

IPA/taˈbuː/

Meaning

  • neuter nountaboo

Example

Wir müssen über unsere Tabus reden.

We need to talk about our taboos.

Illustration for Tabu (taboo)

More examples

In Diskussionen sollte man manchmal ein Tabu ansprechen.

In discussions, one should sometimes address a taboo.

Core concept

A sealed-off subject or action that a community treats as forbidden and often leaves unmentioned.

Common phrases

  • das Tabu brechen

    break the taboo

  • ein Tabu ansprechen

    address a taboo

  • ein gesellschaftliches Tabu

    a social taboo

Similar words

Sitte: A tradition maintained over time that shapes how people are expected to behave.
Anstand: Decorum shown through politeness and restraint in a given situation.
Scham: The painful feeling of viewing one's own actions or condition with shame.

Definition in German

Ein kulturell oder sozial als verboten betrachteter Bereich von Themen oder Handlungen, über den man oft schweigt.

Word origin

Tabu is a borrowing from English taboo, which entered European languages after the eighteenth-century recording of Tongan tapu for a prohibited or set-apart thing.

Usage tips

  • German commonly uses the expressions ein Tabu brechen and etwas ist tabu, with the second form using the adjective tabu rather than the noun.

Opposites

  • Offenheitopennessnoun
  • Erlaubtheitpermissibilitynoun

Related words

  • tabuisierenmake tabooverb
  • Tabuisierungtabooingnoun
  • tabuisierttabooedadjective

Word lists with this word