bureaucrat
der Bürokrat, die Bürokraten
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bureaucrat
A civil servant or employee in an administration who follows regulations excessively strictly. The term is often used disparagingly for a person perceived as pedantic and inflexible.
Wegen eines fehlenden Stempels schickte der Bürokrat im Amt den Antragsteller wieder weg.
Because of a missing stamp, the bureaucrat at the office sent the applicant away again.
| gender | masculine der |
|---|---|
| plural | die Bürokraten |
| genitive | des Bürokraten |
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | der Bürokrat | die Bürokraten |
| accusative | den Bürokraten | die Bürokraten |
| dative | dem Bürokraten | den Bürokraten |
| genitive | des Bürokraten | der Bürokraten |
The article changes with the case; it is shown in colour.
Careful: 'Bürokrat' (bureaucrat) is almost always an insult or is at least used in a strongly disparaging way. It does not describe a neutral job title, but criticizes a person as inflexible and excessively fixated on rules.
Er gilt als typischer Bürokrat, der für kein Problem eine einfache Lösung findet.
He is considered a typical bureaucrat who cannot find a simple solution to any problem.
The word is made up of 'Büro' (office) and the ending '-krat', which comes from Greek and means 'rule' or 'power'. A 'Bürokrat' (bureaucrat) is therefore literally a 'ruler of the office', which emphasizes the negative association of rigid power.
Man fühlt sich der Willkür von einem Bürokraten ausgeliefert.
You feel at the mercy of a bureaucrat's arbitrariness.
This word belongs to a word family related to administration. Important related terms are the noun 'die Bürokratie' (bureaucracy) and the adjective 'bürokratisch' (bureaucratic).
Die übermäßige Bürokratie im Land lähmt viele Unternehmen.
The excessive bureaucracy in the country is paralyzing many companies.
