"Bist du der Bürgermeister?"

Translation: Are you the mayor?

[Erik_Sadul]

haha I like how if you break it up, "Bürgermeister" means citizen master.

[nictheman]

This is the awesomeness of German. Like another phrase in this lesson (Occupation Lesson 4) is Mitarbeiter, or "with worker" for co-worker. Also "Arbeitgeber" or "work giver" for employer. I don't think any language does this as well as German.

[Hunniel]

Try Hungarian.

[nictheman]

Go on?

[kapos]

"Munkatárs" = 'munka' (work) + 'társ' (partner)

"Munkaadó" = 'munka' + 'adó' (giver)

"Alkalmazott" = 'alkalom' (opportunity) > 'alkalmaz' (apply, employ) > 'alkalmazott' (past participle, i. e. 'employee')

"Polgármester" = 'polgár' (citizen) + 'mester'

[kesinbilgi]

Turkish uses words within words, practically. An example: "Employer" is "işveren" in Turkish; consisting of "iş", job; and "veren", giver.

[Bozlaker]

kesin bilgi mi? öf çok kötü espri.

[seat178]

perhups Thai language, for example ice is called nam keng that means strong water lol

[davidvdb]

Yay Dutch :)

[yadwinder_gadari]

In India, words for all the political terms are either borrowed from Persian or Sanskrit.

[Taurendil]

Or look at the Finnish equivalents:

Employer = Arbeitgeber = työnantaja, työ/n (work) + antaja (giver)

Employee = Mitarbeiter = työntekijä, työ/n (work) + tekijä (doer)

[Nathan168286]

Not only does it literally translate into citizen master, but you address a male mayor as Herr Bürgermeister (Mr. Mayor), which can literally translate into "Lord Citizen Master."

[rharao]

Would one address a mayor with "du" in real life?

[IowaHawkeye]

Only if you say "like a boss" after.

[HildaRugut]

Hehe you have just made my morning!!!

[eplus17]

How about you are asking a close friend whether they have been assigned the role of mayor in a stage play.

[meinetantelotte]

Yes, a close friend or family member would make "du" acceptable. You wouldn't go up to a mayor you aren't related to or have a good friendship with and use "du". That is way too familiar for someone with that position.

[TobyBartels]

True enough, but I have a hard time believing that a close friend or family member wouldn't already know the answer to the question!

[BrookeLorren]

LOL. I could just imagine coming home for Christmas from far away asking my brother... "So... are you the mayor now?"

[yadwinder_gadari]

I would rather say "Sind sie der Bürgermeister ?“ or “Seid ihr der Bürgermeister ?“.

[furrypony]

I can´t help thinking Bürgermeister means Burger King.

[Taz0x]

Burgermeister Meisterburger xD
http://youtu.be/TX87QQLVD5k

[Egdir]

I thought I was the only one that thought of that! Nice to see someone else that remembers those creepy Rankin-Bass stop-motion shows

[KittyCat1975]

There will be no toy makers to the king!

[BrookeLorren]

That's how I know the word. One of the easiest words to learn in the lesson :-).

[TerjeKleven]

When do you accept a spelling mistake and when not? It seems to be quite arbitrary.

[tu.8zPhLD72zzoZN]

If there is only one letter misspelled and it doesn't change it to a different word, it will pass.

[yadwinder_gadari]

Ja, in der tat ich bin ! :-)

[Songemot]

I really, really, really like this word.

[PunkJesus]

Why does it sound like boogermeister?