Worüber

Worüber is a German fused interrogative pronoun formed from the preposition über and the question word wo, and it means “about what.” It is used to refer to the topic or subject of discussion, thought, or inquiry.

The form belongs to the family of Präpositionalpronomen, which combine a preposition with an interrogative element to express questions about a specific relation. Worüber is commonly used in direct questions, such as Worüber redest du gerade? (“What are you talking about right now?”), and in indirect questions, as in Ich frage mich, worüber er spricht. It can also appear in relative clauses in colloquial speech, for example, das Thema, worüber wir gesprochen haben, though in formal writing many speakers would prefer das Thema, über das wir gesprochen haben.

Usage considerations include the typical preference for using a single fused form in questions, while more formal contexts may opt for the separate preposition phrase über das … in a relative clause. Like other wo- compounds (such as worauf, wofür, woraus), worüber helps to keep the question compact and focuses on the object of the preposition über.

Examples:

- Worüber redest du? (What are you talking about?)

- Ich weiß nicht, worüber er spricht. (I don’t know what he is talking about.)

- Das ist das Thema, worüber wir heute diskutieren. (This is the topic about which we are discussing today; formal alternative: Das ist das Thema, über das wir heute diskutieren.)