Who‘s the chef and who‘s the boss?
Definition
The confusing German word Chef is the most common way of referring to a manager and has nothing to do with kitchens and cooking.
Germans also commonly use the English word “Boss” to refer to their superiors at the workplace.
The English words “chef” and “chief” as well as the German Chef are all related to the Latin word “caput”, which means “head”, here in the sense of “head of operations.”
Germans learning English will often mistakenly translate their word Chef into English as “chief”.
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Examples
Der Chef hat ihn gestern gefeuert. The boss fired him yesterday.
Ich habe einen netten Chef. I have a nice boss.
Good to Know
Female bosses are referred to as Chefin.