German flag

Why German fears, respects and protects with 'vor' + dative

In English you are afraid of something, you protect someone from danger, you warn people about a risk and you have respect for your teacher. German handles all of these with one preposition: vor, followed by the dative case. Angst vor, schützen vor, warnen vor, Respekt vor: the pattern is the same every time.

English speakers tend to translate the English preposition directly. Because of and from often become von in German, learners say Angst von or schützen von, which sounds wrong to native speakers. Once you know that fear, respect, warning, protection and escape all point to vor, you can stop guessing.

Word list
AngstfA2 fear Angst vor + Dat = fear of Angst habenA2 to fear Ich habe Angst vor dir = I'm afraid of you FurchtfA2 fear Furcht vor + Dat = fear of beschützenB1 to protect jemanden vor einer Gefahr beschützen = protect someone from a danger GeheimnisnB1 secret ein Geheimnis vor jemandem haben = keep a secret from someone in SicherheitB1 safe in Sicherheit vor + Dat = safe from RespektmB1 respect Respekt vor dem Lehrer = respect for the teacher Respekt habenB1 to respect Respekt haben vor + Dat = have respect for rettenB1 to save jemanden vor + Dat retten = rescue someone from schützenB1 to protect vor der Sonne schützen = protect from the sun sich fürchtenB1 to fear sich vor der Dunkelheit fürchten = be afraid of the dark sich verbergenB1 to hide sich vor jemandem verbergen = hide from someone sich versteckenB1 to hide sich vor jemandem verstecken = hide from someone sicherB1 safe sicher vor + Dat = safe from verbergenB1 to hide etwas vor jemandem verbergen = hide something from someone versteckenB1 to hide das Geld vor den Kindern verstecken = hide the money from the kids warnenB1 to warn vor dem Hund warnen = warn about the dog WarnungfB1 warning eine Warnung vor einer Gefahr = a warning about a danger AchtungfB2 respect Achtung vor + Dat = respect for fliehenB2 to flee vor dem Krieg fliehen = flee from the war FluchtfB2 escape die Flucht vor + Dat = escape from flüchtenB2 to flee vor + Dat flüchten = flee from PanikfB2 panic Panik vor + Dat haben = panic about SchutzmB2 protection Schutz vor einer Gefahr = protection from a danger verheimlichenC1 to cover up etwas vor jemandem verheimlichen = keep something from someone EkelmC2 disgust Ekel vor + Dat = disgust at
How it works

Picture vor in its basic meaning, in front of. The thing you fear, respect or need protection from stands in front of you like an obstacle or a threat. That image covers the whole group.

The construction is simple: word + vor + dative. So you get vor dem Hund, vor der Sonne, vor dir, and in the plural vor den Hunden or simply vor Hunden. Note the extra -n in the dative plural.

Mein Sohn hat Angst vor Hunden.
(My son is afraid of dogs.)

Rule of thumb: if the English sentence is about fear, respect, a warning, safety or running away, and it uses of, from, about or for, reach for vor.

The words
Fear

The most common members: the noun Angst and the phrase Angst haben, the reflexive verb sich fürchten and the more formal noun Furcht. Stronger feelings work the same way: Panik (panic) and Ekel (disgust). The verb sich ekeln also takes vor.

Ich fürchte mich vor der Dunkelheit.
(I'm afraid of the dark.)
Viele Menschen haben Panik vor Spinnen.
(Many people panic about spiders.)
Respect

Respekt, Respekt haben and Achtung take vor, where English uses for.

Sie hat großen Respekt vor ihrem Lehrer.
(She has great respect for her teacher.)
Warning

The verb warnen and the noun Warnung both introduce the danger with vor.

Das Schild warnt vor dem Hund.
(The sign warns about the dog.)
Protection and safety

You protect with schützen or beschützen, you get Schutz, you are sicher (safe), and you retten (rescue) someone from danger. All of them use vor.

Die Creme schützt vor der Sonne.
(The cream protects from the sun.)
Die Feuerwehr hat die Familie vor dem Feuer gerettet.
(The fire brigade rescued the family from the fire.)
Unter dem Dach bist du sicher vor dem Regen.
(Under the roof you're safe from the rain.)
Hiding and escaping

If you hide from someone with sich verstecken or sich verbergen, keep a Geheimnis from them, or run away with fliehen, flüchten or Flucht, the person or danger you avoid comes after vor.

Die Kinder verstecken sich vor ihrem Vater.
(The children are hiding from their father.)
Ich habe kein Geheimnis vor dir.
(I have no secrets from you.)
Viele Familien sind vor dem Krieg geflohen.
(Many families fled from the war.)
Watch out
Dative, not accusative

These words never take an accusative after vor, even though nothing is standing still. Say Angst vor dem Hund, not Angst vor den Hund.

Do not forget sich

Sich fürchten, sich verstecken and sich verbergen need their reflexive pronoun: ich fürchte mich, du versteckst dich.

The verb respektieren is different

The noun Respekt takes vor, but the verb respektieren takes a direct object with no preposition at all.

Ich respektiere meinen Chef.
(I respect my boss.)
Angst um is not Angst vor

Angst vor is fear of a threat. Angst um is worry for someone you love: Ich habe Angst um meine Mutter means you are worried about her, not afraid of her.

A different vor

You will also see vor giving the cause of a physical reaction, usually with no article: vor Kälte zittern (to shiver with cold), vor Freude weinen (to cry with joy). This means because of. It is a separate use and does not follow the fear and protection pattern.

Das Kind zittert vor Kälte.
(The child is shivering with cold.)
Summary

Whenever German talks about something you fear, respect, get warned about, need protection from, or hide and flee from, the threat goes after vor in the dative: Angst vor dem Hund, schützen vor der Sonne, fliehen vor dem Krieg. English may say of, from, about or for, but German does not use von here. Use vor.