Coming home late, roommate asleep
A real situation from the OGIMA community · Everyday Life
The scene
The door creaks, your roommate is asleep, and you need to whisper an apology for the noise without waking them up completely.
Why this moment is tricky in Germany
The WG (Wohngemeinschaft / shared apartment) is the default living arrangement for students, young professionals, and expats in German cities — Berlin alone has tens of thousands. WG etiquette around noise is taken seriously: the Nachtruhe (quiet hours, typically 22:00–06:00) isn't just a building rule but a cultural norm that roommates enforce on each other. Whispering 'Sorry, ich bin's' (sorry, it's me) or 'Tschuldigung für den Lärm' (sorry for the noise) when you come in late is the expected move. Completely ignoring your roommate's sleep is seen as disrespectful, but a whispered apology — even if they're barely awake — acknowledges the social contract. In a Zweck-WG (practical-purpose flatshare, as opposed to a friendship WG), these brief late-night exchanges might be the only daily interaction between roommates who otherwise keep to themselves.
Rehearse it before it happens
This situation is practised out loud in OGIMA: you speak, an AI conversation partner answers back, and you rerun it until the real thing feels routine.
Prefer to read first? Our guide covers this territory: Apartment Hunting German: Viewings, WG Castings, and Landlord Calls