vor
German, preposition/foːr/
vor is spelled V-O-R (3 letters) and appears 2,042 times per million words in written German, the 67th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Vor is a German preposition meaning “in front of, ahead of (relative location in space)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “früher, eher”.
What does vor mean in English?
preposition
- 1
in front of, ahead of (relative location in space)
- 2
before, prior to, ahead of (relative location in time)
- 3
ago (location in the past relative to the present)
vor drei Tagen
- 4
from, against (a threat or negative outcome)
Er konnte vor dem Tsunami nicht mehr fliehen.
- 5
with, (out) of (stating cause)
vor Freude weinen
prefix
- 1
pre- (denotes primarily that something is before or in front of another thing or higher in a hierarchy)
- 2
Separable verbal prefix indicating a presentation or performance
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
preposition: 1. früher, eher 2. näher am Betrachter 3. mit Akkusativ: in räumlicher Richtung zu einer Position nach [2] 4. Bezeichnung der Ursache oder des Grundes eines Sachverhalts
prefix: 1. Bewegung vorwärts, nach vorne 2. Bewegung, die an der Vorderseite von etwas stattfindet 3. sichtbar sein oder werden 4. eine bereits vorher erledigte Sache oder eine Sache, die früher gestartet wurde
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of vor
- wovor error-unrecognized-form
- davor error-unrecognized-form
- hiervor error-unrecognized-form
- fur alternative obsolete
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce vor?
- /foːr/
- [foːɐ̯]
- [fɔɐ̯]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to vor
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is vor in German?
vor appears 2,042 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).