Ich bleibe erst einmal zu Hause.

Because bleiben means to stay / remain, while sein means to be.

So:

• Ich bin zu Hause. = I am at home.
• Ich bleibe zu Hause. = I am staying at home.

In your sentence, the speaker is talking about remaining at home, not just describing their location.

In this sentence, erst einmal means something like:

• for now
• for the time being
• at first
• for the moment

It often suggests that this is the speaker’s decision at the moment, but it might change later.

So Ich bleibe erst einmal zu Hause has the feeling of:

• I’ll stay home for now.
• I’m staying at home for the time being.

A learner should be careful not to interpret erst here only as only. In this expression, erst einmal works together as a set phrase with a softer, temporary meaning.

This is a very common German distinction:

• zu Hause = at home (location, no movement)
• nach Hause = home / to home (movement toward home)

So:

• Ich bin zu Hause. = I am at home.
• Ich bleibe zu Hause. = I stay at home.
• Ich gehe nach Hause. = I go home.

Since bleiben describes staying in a place, German uses zu Hause, not nach Hause.

Both forms are seen, but there is a difference in standard usage:

• zu Hause is the traditional, standard form when it functions as an adverbial expression meaning at home.
• zuhause is also commonly accepted in modern German, especially in less formal writing.

So you may see:

• Ich bleibe zu Hause.
• Ich bleibe zuhause.

Both are widely understood, but zu Hause is still very common in teaching materials and formal standard usage.

Also note that Hause is capitalized because it comes from a noun.

Because it comes from the noun das Haus.

In the expression zu Hause, German keeps the noun capitalized, even though the whole phrase functions adverbially.

This is similar to a few fixed expressions in German where a noun remains part of a phrase:

• zu Hause = at home
• nach Hause = homeward / home

So the capital letter is not random; it reflects the noun origin.

You can understand them separately, but in this sentence it is best to treat erst einmal as a common expression.

Individually:

• erst can mean only, not until, or first
• einmal can literally mean once, but in many expressions it softens the tone or means something like for now

Together, erst einmal often means:

• for the moment
• for now
• to begin with

So in real usage, it is often more helpful to learn erst einmal as a chunk.

Yes, German word order is somewhat flexible, but the given order is very natural.

Basic structure here:

• Ich = subject
• bleibe = finite verb in second position
• erst einmal = adverbial expression
• zu Hause = place

German often places time-related or attitude-related adverbials like erst einmal before the place phrase. So this sentence sounds very natural.

You could also hear:

• Ich bleibe zu Hause erst einmal.

But that is less neutral and usually sounds more marked or conversational, with stronger emphasis on erst einmal.

The standard, unmarked version is:

• Ich bleibe erst einmal zu Hause.

No. Bleiben is a strong verb.

Its present-tense forms are:

• ich bleibe
• du bleibst
• er/sie/es bleibt
• wir bleiben
• ihr bleibt
• sie/Sie bleiben

Notice the vowel change in:

• du bleibst
• er/sie/es bleibt

That makes it irregular compared with fully regular verbs.

Yes. Erstmal is a very common shortened form of erst einmal.

So these are both natural:

• Ich bleibe erst einmal zu Hause.
• Ich bleibe erstmal zu Hause.

The shorter form is especially common in spoken German and informal writing. The longer form may sound a little more careful or neutral in writing, but both are standard and very common.

Usually it means at home, often referring to the place where the speaker lives, but context matters.

For example:

• Ich bin zu Hause. usually means I am at my home.
• In some situations, zu Hause can also mean in one’s home environment more generally.

But for most learners, the safest understanding is simply at home.

Often yes.

• Ich bleibe daheim.
• Ich bleibe zu Hause.

Both can mean I’m staying home.

However:

• zu Hause is the more neutral and widely used standard expression.
• daheim can sound more regional, more informal, or a bit more personal depending on the speaker and area.

So if you want the safest general-purpose version, zu Hause is the best choice.