wovor
what ... of
Introduces a direct or indirect question and asks about the object of a fear, warning, or hesitation.
EXAMPLE
Wovor fürchtest du dich am meisten?
What are you most afraid of?
wovor
what ... from / of
Checking...
Loading your saved state.
Meanings
wovor
which ... of
Introduces a relative clause and refers to a thing before which an action or feeling takes place. It replaces a construction like 'vor dem/der/denen' (before which / of which).
EXAMPLE
Das ist die Spinne, wovor meine Schwester solche Angst hat.
That is the spider which my sister is so afraid of.
Usage tips
Word structure
'Wovor' is a pronominal adverb and a fixed combination of 'wo' (where) and the preposition 'vor' (before / in front of / of). It replaces the combination 'vor was?' (of what? / before what?) in questions and 'vor dem/das' (before which / of which) in relative clauses when referring to a thing or a situation.
EXAMPLE
Wovor hast du Angst?
What are you afraid of?
People vs. things
'Wovor' is used only for things, ideas, or situations. If you are asking about a person or referring to a person, you must use the preposition 'vor' with the appropriate interrogative or relative pronoun.
EXAMPLE
Vor wem hat er dich gewarnt?
Who did he warn you about?
Typical verbs
'Wovor' is used with verbs that have a fixed connection with the preposition 'vor' (before / from / of). These include, for example, 'Angst haben vor' (to be afraid of), 'sich fürchten vor' (to be afraid of), 'warnen vor' (to warn about), and 'sich schützen vor' (to protect oneself from).
EXAMPLE
Wovor soll dieses neue Gesetz die Bürger schützen?
What is this new law supposed to protect citizens from?
Context clue
You can tell whether 'wovor' introduces a question or a relative clause from the sentence structure. A question with 'wovor' often comes at the beginning of the sentence and the sentence ends with a question mark. A relative clause with 'wovor' follows directly after the noun it describes and introduces a subordinate clause.
EXAMPLE
Wovor läuft das Kind weg?
What is the child running away from?
In real life
Loading video examples...