Learn Hardcore German: Ich melde mich nach der Besprechung kurz ab und gehe nach Hause. - I will briefly sign off after the meeting and go home.

The verb is sich abmelden, a reflexive verb. Literally it means something like “to unregister oneself / to sign oneself off / to check oneself out”.

ich melde mich ab = I sign off / I check out
mich is the reflexive pronoun referring back to ich (“myself”).

In German, many verbs are reflexive even though English doesn’t use myself there. You cannot leave out mich here:

✅ Ich melde mich ab.
❌ Ich melde ab. (wrong / incomplete in this meaning)

So Ich melde mich nach der Besprechung kurz ab = I’ll quickly sign off (from work / from the office) after the meeting.

Why is it nach der Besprechung and not nach die Besprechung?

Nach is a preposition that takes the dative case when it means “after (in time)”.

die Besprechung = nominative singular, feminine
Dative feminine singular of die Besprechung is der Besprechung

So:

nach + dative → nach der Besprechung = after the meeting

Other examples:

nach der Schule (after school)
nach dem Essen (after the meal)

What is the function and meaning of kurz here?

In this context, kurz means “briefly / for a moment”, not “short” in the physical sense.

Ich melde mich nach der Besprechung kurz ab = I’ll quickly / briefly check out after the meeting.

It doesn’t mean that the meeting itself is short; it describes how you check out: you’ll just quickly let someone know you’re leaving, or quickly log out, etc.

Why is kurz placed after nach der Besprechung and before ab? Can it move?

The neutral, common position is:

Ich melde mich nach der Besprechung kurz ab.

Here, kurz stands in the “Mittelfeld” (middle field), with the separable prefix ab at the end.

You can move kurz, but the meaning can change slightly:

Ich melde mich kurz nach der Besprechung ab.
→ I’ll check out shortly after the meeting.
Here kurz goes with nach and means “shortly after” (time).
Ich melde mich nach der Besprechung kurz ab.
→ After the meeting, I’ll quickly / briefly check out.
Here kurz describes the manner of checking out.

So the placement of kurz can change whether it refers to time (shortly after) or manner (briefly).

What is abmelden exactly, and how does the separable verb work in other tenses?

abmelden is a separable verb: ab- is a prefix that goes to the end of the clause in main clauses.

Present tense main clause:

Ich melde mich ab. (prefix at the end)

Past tense with haben:

Ich habe mich abgemeldet. (prefix stays attached: abgemeldet)

With a modal verb:

Ich will mich abmelden. (infinitive: abmelden)

Subordinate clause:

…, weil ich mich abmelden will.
…, nachdem ich mich abgemeldet habe.

So in main clauses, you get melde … ab; in non-finite forms and subordinate clauses, it’s abmelden / abgemeldet.

Can you say just Ich melde nach der Besprechung kurz ab without mich?

No, not in this meaning.

For sich abmelden (“sign off / check out”), the reflexive pronoun is required:

✅ Ich melde mich nach der Besprechung kurz ab.
❌ Ich melde nach der Besprechung kurz ab.

Without mich, melden would need a different object (like jemanden irgendwo abmelden – “to deregister someone from something”), and the sentence would sound unfinished or wrong.

Why is it nach Hause and not zu Hause?

German distinguishes between motion to home and being at home:

nach Hause = to home (movement, going there)
- Ich gehe nach Hause. – I’m going home.
zu Hause = at home (location)
- Ich bin zu Hause. – I’m at home.

In the sentence, gehe indicates movement, so nach Hause is correct:

… und gehe nach Hause. – … and (then I) go home.

Do you need a comma before und gehe nach Hause?

In standard modern German, you do not need a comma here:

Ich melde mich nach der Besprechung kurz ab und gehe nach Hause.

It’s one subject (ich) with two coordinated verbs (melde mich … ab and gehe), joined by und. No comma is required.

A comma would only become necessary if you had a more complex construction (e.g. a subordinate clause) or if you wanted to emphasize a pause, but in normal writing you leave it out.

Is Besprechung the same as “meeting”? Could you use Meeting or Sitzung instead?

Besprechung is a normal German word for a meeting / discussion, especially in a work context.

die Besprechung – a (work) meeting, discussion
die Sitzung – often more formal: session, sitting (e.g. board meeting, council session)
das Meeting – an English loanword, common in business contexts, slightly more casual/modern.

All of these could be possible depending on context:

nach der Besprechung
nach der Sitzung
nach dem Meeting

They’re not 100% interchangeable in every situation, but for a typical office meeting, Besprechung or Meeting are both common.

Is this sentence formal or informal? Could you say it to your boss?

The sentence itself is neutral and polite enough for most workplaces:

Ich melde mich nach der Besprechung kurz ab und gehe nach Hause.

It’s not slangy; it’s appropriate to say to a colleague or even to a boss, depending on tone and relationship. If you want to sound a bit more formal or explicit, you might say for example:

Ich melde mich nach der Besprechung noch kurz bei Ihnen ab und gehe dann nach Hause.
- I’ll quickly check in with you after the meeting and then go home.

But the original sentence is absolutely fine in many normal job situations.