to occupy / employ
Loading your saved state.
to occupy oneself with
To devote one's time and attention to a particular thing, person, or activity.
In seiner Freizeit beschäftigt er sich intensiv mit der Geschichte des Mittelalters.
In his free time, he occupies himself intensively with the history of the Middle Ages.
'Beschäftigen' (to occupy / employ) is an inseparable verb. The prefix 'be-' stays firmly attached to the verb in all sentence forms and tenses and is never placed at the end of the sentence.
Dieses Thema beschäftigt mich schon seit Tagen.
This topic has been occupying me for days.
The sentence structure reveals the meaning: when a person is the subject and 'sich mit' something beschäftigt, they are active. When a thing is the subject and 'beschäftigt' a person, the person is passive and is prompted to think.
Ich beschäftige mich mit der deutschen Grammatik.
I occupy myself with German grammar.
When you devote your time to something, 'sich beschäftigen' is always used with the preposition 'mit' and the dative.
Womit beschäftigst du dich in deiner Freizeit?
What do you occupy yourself with in your free time?
In the sense of 'einstellen' (to hire), the verb is often used in the context of work. Typical phrases are 'Mitarbeiter beschäftigen' (to employ staff), 'jemanden in Teilzeit beschäftigen' (to employ someone part-time), or 'Arbeiter beschäftigen' (to employ workers).
Die Firma beschäftigt viele Studenten als Aushilfen.
The company employs many students as temporary workers.
to interest
'interessieren' and 'beschäftigen' can both mean that a topic gets a person's attention. 'sich interessieren für' mainly says: you find something interesting and want to know more about it. 'sich beschäftigen mit' says more strongly: you spend time on a topic or work on it. 'beschäftigen' can also mean that a topic stays on someone's mind, sometimes because of worries. Learners confuse the words because both have to do with attention. In practical terms: interest is more like curiosity, while Beschäftigung is more like active work or intensive thinking.
Vor der Prüfung beschäftigt sich Mehmet jeden Abend mit Grammatik.
Before the exam, Mehmet spends every evening working on grammar.
Seit der Reise interessiert sich Lisa sehr für alte Städte.
Since the trip, Lisa has been very interested in old cities.