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In the movie Das Boot, the crew address the captain with a word I don't understand.

I think it may be "Kaleun", which I assume is short for "Kapitan Leutnant".

Am I right? Is that a real word?

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1 Answer

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"Kaleun" is a real abbreviation, I'm not sure if this makes it a real word ;)

And yes, it means "Kapitänleutnant".

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Does it origin from "K. Leu."? – user unknown Mar 4 '12 at 17:40
Never heard the "Kaleun" before I read the Wikipedia article. I think the captain in the movie is called "Kaleu". – harper Mar 7 '12 at 17:40
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@harper: actually no, they call him "Kaleun" as it is the historic usage of the abbreviation. See this Wikipedia entry – nem75 Mar 16 '12 at 11:24
Man schreibt es aber mit Sicherheit nicht mit Camelcase. Da ich annehme dass das absichtlich geschah korrigiere ich das Posting nicht stillschweigend. – user unknown Jan 18 at 13:24
@userunknown: Hab ich aus Wikipedia übernommen. Wenn Du's ändern möchtest, tu's. – John Smithers Jan 18 at 13:54
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