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In the sentence:

Früher habe ich immer Angst vorm Fliegen gehabt.

What does "vorm" mean?

Dictionary says it means "vor Mittags," but I don't think it fits here.

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    While the others are right that this is a contraction of "vor dem", note that if (and only if) you put a period after this, it actually is the abbreviation for "vormittags", which means "before noon".
    – Mac
    Commented Feb 19, 2014 at 8:29
  • There is nothing in this question that could not be answered by a quick internet search of trusted sources, like Duden, Oxford Dictionaries, etc. Why post this as a question?
    – teylyn
    Commented Feb 20, 2014 at 7:08
  • @Mac is correct, but that wouldn't fit with the OP's example sentence. Either OP ignored a period or looked up weird dictionaries instead of duden.de/suchen/dudenonline/vorm and de.wiktionary.org/wiki/vorm
    – AmigoJack
    Commented Dec 7, 2018 at 17:07

3 Answers 3

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It is a shortened vor dem:

Früher habe ich immer Angst vor dem Fliegen gehabt.

See also:

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    Perhaps it's worth mentioning that vorm is a colloquial form (umgangssprachlich).
    – splattne
    Commented Feb 19, 2014 at 7:06
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It's a contraction of vor dem. It’s similar to shortening von dem to vom.

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"vorm" is the short form of "vor dem"

Ich stehe vorm Haus

I am in front of the house.

Ich esse Sinigang vorm Zubettgehen.

I am eating sinigang before bed.

Ich habe Angst vorm Fliegen

I am scared of flying.

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    "vor dem" does not always mean "in front of" -- for example "Ich habe Angst vor dem Hund"
    – thekeyofgb
    Commented Feb 19, 2014 at 2:39
  • on a sidenote... Zubettgehen is rarely used in written language as there are many shorter and easier to remember alternatives. I also do not hear it in spoken Language as a matter of fact, but that might be due to my age and the fact that I am from south germany..
    – Vogel612
    Commented Feb 19, 2014 at 16:47

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