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umfahren

to drive around (bypass)

verb oom-FAH-ren Rare
Travel & Places Movement

Also means

to knock over with a vehicle (UM-fahren)

Usage Note

umfahren has two opposite stress patterns and meanings: UM-fahren (separable) = to knock down; um-FAH-ren (inseparable) = to go around, bypass. Learners must note this stress distinction carefully to avoid confusion in navigation contexts.

Examples

"Wir haben das Stadtzentrum umfahren, um den Stau zu vermeiden."

Natural Translation

We drove around the city centre to avoid the traffic jam.

Literal Translation

We have the city-centre bypassed to avoid the traffic-jam.

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