01
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
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Meanings
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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?
Compare with
wovor vs warum
why
'warum' and 'wovor' both introduce questions, but they ask about different things. With 'warum', you ask about the reason or cause: you want to know why something happens. With 'wovor', you ask about something that someone is afraid of, protects themselves from, or is warned about. Learners may confuse the words because both begin with 'w' and appear in questions. The simple difference is: 'warum' asks about the reason, while 'wovor' asks about the object of fear, warning, or caution.
wovor
Wovor hat das Kind im dunklen Keller Angst?
What is the child afraid of in the dark basement?
warum
Warum hat Jonas den Termin so spät abgesagt?
Why did Jonas cancel the appointment so late?
In real life
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