Babo

boss, leader, chief

Origin

Comes from Zazaki (a language in eastern Turkey) and means 'father'; the same form is also attested in Bosnian and in Balkan Romani. In German youth slang it denotes a boss, leader or person of respect within a group. The term became known in 2013 through Haftbefehl's song 'Chabos wissen wer der Babo ist' and was voted Jugendwort des Jahres (Youth Word of the Year) the same year.

Source

Building blocks

Words in this expression

Examples

  • In ist er der Babo, auf ihn.

    In this neighborhood he's the boss, everyone listens to him.