My First Few Months in Berlin: Talking About My Free Time (And Those Tricky Verbs!)

Okay, deep breath. It’s been six months since I landed in Berlin, and honestly, it’s been a whirlwind. The language, the culture, the food – it’s completely overwhelming, but in the best way. I’m working as a freelance translator, which is amazing, and I’m slowly making friends. One of the biggest hurdles, though? Just…talking. Specifically, talking about what I do when I’m not working. It’s not as simple as just saying “I read” or “I watch TV,” you know?

The Problem with “Freizeit”

I quickly realised that “Freizeit” isn’t just about “free time.” It’s a whole conversation. My first few attempts to explain what I did over the weekend were… awkward. I’d blurt out something like, “Ich lese ein Buch” (I read a book), and the German person would look at me strangely. Like, I hadn’t said anything wrong grammatically, but it just felt…incomplete. It was like I wasn’t giving them the full picture.

Separable Verbs – My Worst Nightmare

Then I started noticing this thing called “trennbare Verben” (separable verbs). I had no idea what they were, but they kept popping up in conversations. My colleague, Markus, was telling me about his weekend, and he said, “Am Samstag bin ich aufgewacht” (On Saturday I woke up). I automatically translated it in my head as “On Saturday I was awake,” which, technically, is correct. But Markus looked puzzled. I later found out that “aufwachen” (to wake up) is separable. The prefix “auf-” goes with “wachen” (to watch) to form “aufwachen.” It’s the opposite of how we form verbs in English! It’s completely thrown me.

An Example – Getting Confused at the Supermarket

Yesterday, I was at the supermarket with my flatmate, Lena. I wanted to say I like to play the guitar. I tried to say, “Ich spiele Gitarre” (I play guitar). Lena stared at me, then said, “Aber machst du das im Moment auch?” (But do you do that at the moment too?). I realised I’d forgotten the prefix! “Ich spiele auch Gitarre” (I play guitar too). It felt so silly, but Lena just laughed and said, “Don’t worry, it’s a common mistake!” Honestly, it was mortifying, but it was also a really helpful little correction.

Common Separable Verbs I’m Learning

Here are a few other ones I’ve been trying to memorize:

• Ankommen (to arrive) – “Ich komme an” (I arrive)
• Aufstehen (to get up) – “Ich stehe auf” (I get up)
• Zuhausekommen (to come home) – “Ich komme zuhause an” (I arrive at home)
• Einpacken (to pack) – “Ich packe ein” (I pack something)

The trick, I’m learning, is to listen carefully and try to understand the context. It’s not enough to just know the words; you have to understand how they’re used.

Asking About Other People’s Free Time

I’ve been trying to ask people what they do in their free time. It’s a bit more complicated than just saying, “Was machst du?” (What do you do?). You need to understand what they’re referring to. For example, someone might say, “Ich gehe ins Kino” (I go to the cinema). That’s fine, but what if they mean “Ich gehe mit ins Kino?” (I go with to the cinema?).

I’ve started using phrases like:

• “Was machst du gern am Wochenende?” (What do you like to do on the weekend?)
• “Was machst du normalerweise in deiner Freizeit?” (What do you normally do in your free time?)
• “Und dann?” (And then?) – This is really useful when someone starts talking about one activity and you want to know what they did afterwards.

My Progress (So Far!)

It’s still a slow process, and I definitely make mistakes. I still accidentally leave off the prefix sometimes. But I’m getting better. I’m starting to feel more confident when I talk about my free time, and I’m actually starting to enjoy conversations with people about what they like to do.

My goal now is to keep listening, keep practicing, and keep making silly mistakes – because that’s how I’m learning. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to explain my love of playing the guitar without causing a complete language breakdown! “Ich spiele auch Gitarre!” (I play guitar too!).

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