Voorbij

1. past, over, gone, finished, done with [adjective] [‘foor-bij‘]  Iconspeaker_klein_2

“Voorbij” is a versatile word, you can use it in different contexts.

In this first context, a certain feeling of melancholy is inevitable. Check out this video of Dutch icon André Hazes (check out the lyrics here), regretting the break-up with his (ex-) girlfriend…

Examples:Turk
– “Na Oranje, is het EK nu ook voorbij voor de Turken…balen!”

(“After the Netherlands, the European soccer championship tournament is now also finished for Turkey…bummer!” Lit.: “…for the Turks…”)

– “Een x-aantal jaren zijn nu voorbij, maar er is eigenlijk niks veranderd…”
(“Several years have passed now, but nothing has changed really…” Lit.: “Several years are past now…”)

– “Heb je nog een afspraakje gehad met Linda?” – “Nee jongen, dat is voorbij, ik heb een blauwtje gelopen.”
(“Now did you have that date with Linda?” – “No dude, that’s over, she turned me down.”)

Expressions:
– “Voorbije tijden”: bygone times.

Related words:
– “Over”: over.
– “Aflopen” [verb] [liep af, afgelopen]: to (come to an) end, to finish.
– “Einde” [noun] [het einde, de eindes]: end.

2. past, by, beyond [adverb] [‘foor-bij‘]  Iconspeaker_klein_2

You can use “voorbij” as an adverb to indicate that something/someone has passed a certain (physical) location or certain point in time.

Examples:
– “Kunt u mij vertellen waar het postkantoor is?” – “O, daar bent u net voorbij.”

(“Can you tell where the post office is?” – “Oh, you’ve just passed it.”)

– “Heeft ze weer zo’n bui?” – “Ach, dat gaat wel weer voorbij…”
(“Is she having one of her moods again?” – “Ah well, it’ll blow over…”

Related words:
– “Verder” [adjective/adverb]: further, farther.
– “Achter”  [preposition]: behind.
– “Terug” [adverb]: back.

3. beyond, past [preposition] [‘foor-bij‘]  Iconspeaker_klein_2

Examples:
– “De raket ging voorbij het doel.”
(“The missile went past the target.”)

– “Frank, doe niet zo betweterig, dat soort onderzoek doen we niet want dat is voorbij de scope van dit project!”
(“Frank, don’t be such a pedantic, we will not perform that kind of research because it’s beyond the scope of this project!”)