priority / right of way
Loading your saved state.
priority
The greater importance or priority given to one thing, person, or goal over others.
Bei diesem Projekt hat die Sicherheit absoluten Vorrang vor den Kosten.
In this project, safety has absolute priority over costs.
The word is made up of 'vor' (before) and 'Rang' (rank). Literally, it means that something or someone has a 'rank before' others, so it is more important or comes earlier.
Die Gesundheit der Mitarbeiter hat obersten Vorrang.
The health of the employees has top priority.
When you want to express that something has priority, you often use the construction 'Vorrang haben' (to have priority). The thing that is less important is added with the preposition 'vor' (+ dative).
Ältere Menschen haben hier Vorrang vor jüngeren.
Older people have priority here over younger people.
In the context of roads, intersections, and vehicles, 'Vorrang' always means 'Vorfahrt' (right of way). Signal words such as 'Kreuzung' (intersection), 'rechts' (right), 'links' (left), 'Verkehrsregel' (traffic rule), or 'Auto' (car) point to this meaning.
Achtung, an dieser Kreuzung hat die Straßenbahn Vorrang!
Careful, at this intersection the tram has the right of way!
In the fixed expression 'jemandem/etwas den Vorrang geben' (to give someone/something priority), the person or thing being preferred is in the dative. This construction emphasizes an active decision in favor of a priority.
Ich gebe meiner Familie immer den Vorrang vor der Arbeit.
I always give my family priority over work.
priority
'die Priorität' and 'der Vorrang' can both express that something is more important than something else and should come first. In many planning contexts, they are very similar: a task has priority or is given precedence. 'Priorität' sounds especially natural when you are ordering tasks or saying what must be done first. 'Vorrang' fits well in fixed expressions like 'jemandem den Vorrang geben' (to give someone priority) and can also mean in road traffic that someone is allowed to go first. Learners may confuse the words because both have to do with 'first' and 'more important'. In work and planning, 'Priorität' is often very common; for preference or traffic, 'Vorrang' is more precise.
An dieser Kreuzung hat der Bus Vorrang vor den Autos.
At this intersection, the bus has priority over the cars.
Lena setzt die Reparatur des Computers auf die höchste Priorität.
Lena sets the computer repair as the highest priority.