Bundeskanzlerin was selected by the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache as the “Wort des Jahres” (Word of the Year) in 2005.
In 2005 Angela Merkel was elected the first German Bundeskanzlerin – the word is constructed by taking the word for Chancellor, Bundeskanzler, and adding the -in to make a female form out of it.
Although Frau Merkel is addressed as “Frau Bundeskanzlerlin”, other forms of the word have not been changed. For example, she works in the Bundeskanzleramt.
When talking about her as one of the many elected leaders of Germany, she is referred to as the 8th Bundeskanzler, ie. in the masculine form.
To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:
(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)
