to drive past / to stop by
Loading your saved state.
to drive past
To pass by a place, person, or object in a vehicle or in another way without stopping.
Wir sind gestern an deinem Haus vorbeigefahren, aber du warst nicht da.
We drove past your house yesterday, but you weren't there.
to stop by
Colloquial for making a short, unplanned visit to someone, often on the way to another place.
Ich fahre später noch kurz bei meinen Eltern vorbei, um ihnen die Einkäufe zu bringen.
I'll stop by my parents' place briefly later to bring them the groceries.
'Vorbeifahren' is a separable verb. The prefix 'vorbei-' goes at the end in a main clause. In subordinate clauses and in the infinitive with 'zu', the verb stays together.
Der Bus fährt direkt an unserem Büro vorbei.
The bus drives right past our office.
Since 'fahren' (to drive/go) is a verb of motion, the perfect tense of 'vorbeifahren' is always formed with 'sein' (to be), not with 'haben' (to have).
Ich bin vorhin an der Post vorbeigefahren, aber sie hatte schon zu.
I drove past the post office earlier, but it was already closed.
The preposition reveals the meaning: 'vorbeifahren an' (+ dative) means to drive past something. 'Vorbeifahren bei' (+ dative) colloquially means to visit someone briefly.
Wir sind an einem schönen alten Schloss vorbeigefahren.
We drove past a beautiful old castle.
The meaning 'to visit someone' is colloquial. It describes a short, often spontaneous visit because you are nearby anyway.
Wenn ich Zeit habe, fahre ich am Wochenende bei dir vorbei.
If I have time, I'll stop by your place on the weekend.
to happen / pass
Both verbs can express that a vehicle passes a stop without stopping. „Passieren“ neutrally describes passing the place. „Vorbeifahren“ explicitly refers to moving past the place and typically takes „an“ plus the dative.
Der Bus fährt an der Haltestelle vorbei, ohne zu halten.
The bus drives past the stop without stopping.
Der Bus passiert die Haltestelle ohne Halt.
The bus passes the stop without stopping.
