to drive around / to knock over
Loading your saved state.
to drive around
To go around an obstacle, a place, or a traffic jam in a vehicle in order to avoid it. The stress is on the second syllable, '-fah-'.
Wegen der Demonstration mussten wir die Innenstadt weiträumig umfahren.
Because of the demonstration, we had to drive well around the city center.
This verb has two opposite meanings, depending on whether it is separable (stress on 'um') or inseparable (stress on '-fah-'). The stress and sentence structure are crucial for understanding it.
Er hat das Schild umgefahren. (trennbar = er hat es getroffen)
Er hat das Schild umgefahren. (separable = he hit it)
The inseparable version is stressed 'um-FAH-ren' and means to drive around an obstacle. The prefix 'um-' always stays attached to the verb, and the past participle is formed without 'ge-': umfahren.
Wir haben den Stau großräumig umfahren.
We drove a long way around the traffic jam.
The separable version is stressed 'UM-fah-ren' and means to hit something and knock it over. In a main clause, the prefix 'um-' comes at the end. The past participle is 'umgefahren'.
Der LKW fuhr den kleinen Baum am Straßenrand um.
The truck knocked over the small tree at the side of the road.
to handle / avoid / circulate
'umgehen' and 'umfahren' can both mean that you avoid an obstacle. 'umgehen' is more general: you can avoid a rule, a problem, or an obstacle by finding another way. 'umfahren' is used only in traffic or with a vehicle, when you drive around something, for example around a traffic jam or a construction site. The words are easy to confuse because both have to do with avoiding something. The important point is: without a vehicle, 'umgehen' usually fits; with a vehicle, 'umfahren' often fits.
Wegen der Baustelle umfährt der Bus das Zentrum.
Because of the construction site, the bus drives around the center.
Der Chef versucht, das Problem im Vertrag zu umgehen.
The boss tries to avoid the problem in the contract.