vorbei

Vorbei is a German adverb and particle that conveys the idea of passing by or being over. It can express both spatial movement (past a point) and temporal completion (something is no longer current). In time-related use, it often means that a period has ended: Die Ferien sind vorbei. Die Stunde ist vorbei. In spatial use, vorbei describes movement past an object or location: Wir gehen am Haus vorbei; Sie fuhr am Denkmal vorbei.

Grammatically, vorbei can function as part of separable verbs such as vorbeigehen, vorbeifahren, vorbeilaufen. In these verbs the prefix is split off in finite clauses: Wir gehen am Geschäft vorbei. Er ist am Kino vorbeigegangen. The meaning is to pass by something in the vicinity. In addition, vorbei can appear with a noun phrase to mark the reference point, e.g., an der Ampel vorbei, an dem Fluss vorbei.

In nominal phrases, the act of passing by can be expressed as das Vorbeigehen (the act of passing by) or, less commonly, das Vorbeikommen, depending on nuance.

Etymology traces vorbei to the combination of vor (in front of, before) and bei (by, near), forming a spatial and temporal marker that has developed into a fixed adverbial particle in modern German.

See also: phrases with vorbei in common German usage, and related verbs such as vorbeIGEhen, vorbeifahren, and vorbeilaufen.