Learn Hardcore German: Meistens bleibe ich am Wochenende zu Hause. - Most of the time I stay at home on the weekend.

Meistens bleibe ich am Wochenende zu Hause.
– Slight emphasis on “most of the time” (frequency is in the spotlight).
Ich bleibe meistens am Wochenende zu Hause.
– Slight emphasis on “I” / what I do on weekends; “most of the time” feels a bit less highlighted.

In everyday conversation, both are practically interchangeable. The difference is mainly one of focus and rhythm, not of basic meaning.

What exactly does meistens mean, and how is it different from oft or meist?

Meistens means “most of the time / usually” and is used as an adverb of frequency.

Comparison:

meistens = most of the time, usually
- Meistens bleibe ich am Wochenende zu Hause.
  → Most weekends I stay home.
oft = often, frequently
- Oft bleibe ich am Wochenende zu Hause.
  → I often stay home on the weekend (but not necessarily most weekends).
meist (without -ens) is a bit more formal/literary or used in fixed phrases. In everyday speech, meistens is more common:
- Ich bin meist zu Hause. (ok, but sounds a bit more compact/formal)
- Ich bin meistens zu Hause. (very common spoken style)

So here meistens is the natural, neutral choice for “most of the time”.

Why is it am Wochenende and not im Wochenende or just Wochenende?

Am Wochenende is the standard way to say “on the weekend / at the weekend”.

am is a contraction of an dem:
- an (preposition) + dem (dative article) → am
das Wochenende (neuter noun) → dem Wochenende in the dative case
So am Wochenende literally = “on/at the weekend”.

Why not:

im Wochenende → would mean “in(side) the weekend”; this isn’t how German talks about that time period.
just Wochenende without an article → not correct in this context. You need:
- am Wochenende, or
- an Wochenenden, an den Wochenenden (see below), etc.

So: use am Wochenende for the general idea “at/on the weekend.”

What is the difference between am Wochenende, an Wochenenden, and an den Wochenenden?

All three can refer to weekends, but they have slightly different feels:

am Wochenende
- Most common, very neutral.
- Usually means “on/at the weekend (in general)”.
- Meistens bleibe ich am Wochenende zu Hause.
  → Most weekends I stay home.
an Wochenenden (plural, no article)
- More general/habitual: “on weekends (in general)”.
- Emphasises “weekends as a category”, not a specific set.
- Ich arbeite nicht an Wochenenden.
  → I don’t work on weekends (at all).
an den Wochenenden (plural with article)
- Refers to a specific set of weekends (in some context).
- An den Wochenenden im Sommer fahre ich oft ans Meer.
  → On the weekends in summer I often go to the sea.

In your sentence, am Wochenende is the most natural and common choice.

Why is Wochenende capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized.

das Wochenende is a noun, so it’s written Wochenende, not wochenende.

You can recognize it as a noun because it has an article (das), can take a plural (die Wochenenden), and names a thing/time period.

Why is it zu Hause with a capital H, and why is it two words?

Historically, Hause is a noun (das Haus → das Hause in an old dative form), so it is capitalized.

zu = to / at
(das) Hause = (old dative of) house
Together, zu Hause = “at home”.

About spelling:

zu Hause (two words) is the traditional and standard spelling in this fixed phrase.
zuhause (one word) is also accepted nowadays as an adverb, especially in informal writing.

In many style guides, you’ll still see:

zu Hause when used literally as “at home”:
- Ich bin zu Hause. (I am at home.)
zuhause more as a looser adverb (“home”, “at home” as a more abstract idea), but the distinction is not strict in real life.

For a learner, using zu Hause (two words, capital H) is always safe and correct.

What is the difference between zu Hause and nach Hause?

This is a very important contrast:

zu Hause = location → “at home” (where you are / stay)
- Ich bin zu Hause. → I am at home.
- Ich bleibe zu Hause. → I stay at home.
nach Hause = direction → “(to) home” (where you are going)
- Ich gehe nach Hause. → I am going home.
- Ich fahre nach Hause. → I am driving home.

Think:

zu Hause → “where?” (place)
nach Hause → “where to?” (movement/direction)

Could I say Meistens bin ich am Wochenende zu Hause instead of Meistens bleibe ich …? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can, and both are correct:

Meistens bleibe ich am Wochenende zu Hause.
→ Focus on the idea of staying / not going out.
Meistens bin ich am Wochenende zu Hause.
→ States a fact about your usual location on weekends.

Nuance:

bleiben emphasizes that you stay put, don’t leave.
sein simply states where you usually are, without the “staying” idea.

In many contexts, they overlap and both sound natural.

Why is the word order am Wochenende zu Hause? Could I also say zu Hause am Wochenende?

Both orders are grammatically correct:

Meistens bleibe ich am Wochenende zu Hause.
Meistens bleibe ich zu Hause am Wochenende. (less common)

General guideline for German adverbials is time – manner – place (TMP). Here:

am Wochenende → time
zu Hause → place

So am Wochenende zu Hause follows the usual pattern (time before place), and therefore sounds more natural in standard style.

Zu Hause am Wochenende can be used for emphasis or rhythm, but the default, neutral order is am Wochenende zu Hause.

How is bleibe conjugated, and what tense is it?

Bleibe is present tense, 1st person singular of the verb bleiben (“to stay/remain”).

Present tense conjugation of bleiben:

ich bleibe – I stay
du bleibst – you stay (singular, informal)
er/sie/es bleibt – he/she/it stays
wir bleiben – we stay
ihr bleibt – you stay (plural, informal)
sie bleiben – they stay / you stay (formal)

Perfect tense (spoken past) uses sein as the auxiliary:

ich bin geblieben – I stayed / I have stayed

Where can meistens go in the sentence? Is its position fixed?

Meistens is relatively flexible in position, as long as you keep the verb in second place in main clauses. All of these are possible:

Meistens bleibe ich am Wochenende zu Hause.
Ich bleibe meistens am Wochenende zu Hause.
Ich bleibe am Wochenende meistens zu Hause.

Nuances:

At the beginning (Meistens bleibe ich …): frequency is emphasized.
After the subject (Ich bleibe meistens …): very common, neutral.
Later in the clause (am Wochenende meistens zu Hause): can feel a bit more “afterthought” or focus on the time/place first.

All are correct; learners will sound natural with the first two patterns.

Why is it am Wochenende and not an dem Wochenende written out?

Am is simply the contracted form of an dem:

an (preposition) + dem (dative article, neuter singular) → am

In spoken and written German, this contraction is standard and preferred:

am Wochenende instead of an dem Wochenende
Likewise: am Montag, am Abend, am Tisch, etc.

The full form an dem Wochenende is possible but sounds unusual or very emphatic in most contexts. Use am Wochenende as your default.