Learn Japanese Pod with Ami and Alex
Podcast 20: Talking about your hobbies

In this lesson you will learn the following:✓​ How to ask people about their hobbies✓​ How to talk about what you do in your free time✓​ Talk in depth about your free time pursuits

LEVEL: Upper Beginner
SITUATION: You are at a party and a new acquaintance asks you aboutyour hobbies.

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Introduction
In this lesson Ami and I teach about how to ask and answer questions about your hobbies innatural casual Japanese. When getting to know people for the first time talking about your freetime is a great topic. The following vocabulary and dialogs should help you to hold a basic
conversation in Japanese on this topic.

Vocabulary
Here is a full vocabulary list taken from the podcast
Japanese

Pronunciation

English

趣味

Shumi

Hobby

ギター

Gitaa

Guitar

ジョギング

Jogingu

Jogging運動

Undō

Exercise

読書

Dokusho

Reading

本を読む

Hon o yomu

Reading books

カメラ

KameraCameras / Photography

写真を撮る

Shashin o toru

Taking photos

最初SaishoThe first

きっかけ

KikkakeChance / Opportunity

やってみようYatte miyō

Try something new

どのぐらいやってる？

Dono gurai yatteru?

How long have you been…?

すごいSugoiWow!

しょっちゅうやってる？

Shocchū yatteru?

Do you do it regularly?

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Dialog 1
A:

趣味は何？

Shumi wa nani?

What’s your hobby?

B:

そうだね、ギターかな。

Sō da ne. Gitaa kana.

Well...guitar I guess.

A:

そっか。最初のきっかけは？

Sokka. Saisho no kikkake wa?

Really? How did you get in toit?

B:

ロックを聴くことが好きだか
らやってみようかなと思って。

Rokku wo kiku koto ga suki
dakara yatte miyō kana toomotte.

I like listening to rock so I
thought I would give it a go.

A:

どのぐらいやってる？

Dono gurai yatteru?

How long have you been
doing it?

B:２０年。

Ni jū nen.

20 years.

A:

すごいね。しょっちゅうやってるの？

Sugoi ne. Shocchū yatteru no?

Wow, do you do it often?

B:毎日。

Mai nichi.

Every day.

A:

へえ～。

Heh.

Really?.

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Dialog 2
A:

趣味は何？

Shumi wa nani?

What’s your hobby?

B:

そうだね、ジョギングかな。

Sō da ne. Jogingu kana.

Well...jogging I guess.

A:

そっか。最初のきっかけは？

Sokka. Saisho no kikkake wa?

Really? How did you get in toit?

B:

運動することが好きだからやってみようかなと思って。

Undō suru koto ga suki dakara yatte miyō kana toomotte.

I like exercising so I thought I
would give it a go.

A:

どのぐらいやってる？

Dono gurai yatteru?

How long have you been
doing it?

B:1年。

Ichi nen.

1 year.

A:

すごいね。しょっちゅうやってるの？

Sugoi ne. Shocchū yatteru no?

Wow, do you do it often?

B:

週に２回。

Shū ni ni kai.

Two times a week.

A:

へえ～。

Heh.

Really?

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Dialog 3
A:

趣味は何？

Shumi wa nani?

What’s your hobby?

B:

そうだね、読書かな。

Sō da ne. Dokusho kana.

Well...reading I guess.

A:

そっか。最初のきっかけは？

Sokka. Saisho no kikkake wa?

Really? How did you get in toit?

B:

本を読むことが好きだからやってみようかなと思って。

Hon o yomu koto ga suki dakara yatte miyō kana toomotte.

I like reading books so I
thought I would give it a go.

A:

どのぐらいやってる？

Dono gurai yatteru?

How long have you been
doing it?

B:６ヶ月。

Rokka getsu.

6 months.

A:

すごいね。しょっちゅうやってるの？

Sugoi ne. Shocchū yatteru no?

Wow, do you do it often?

B:

時間がある時に。

Jikan ga aru toki ni.

When I have time.

A:

へえ～。

Heh.

Really?

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Dialog 4
A:

趣味は何？

Shumi wa nani?

What’s your hobby?

B:

そうだね、カメラかな。

Sō da ne. Kamera kana.

Well...photography I guess.

A:

そっか。最初のきっかけは？

Sokka. Saisho no kikkake wa?

Really? How did you get in toit?

B:

写真を撮ることが好きだからやってみようかなと思って。

Shashin o toru koto ga suki dakara yatte miyō kana toomotte.

I like taking photos so I
thought I would give it a go.

A:

どのぐらいやってる？

Dono gurai yatteru?

How long have you beendoing it?

B:一ヶ月。

Ikka getsu.

1 month.

A:すごいね。しょっちゅうやってるの？

Sugoi ne. Shocchū yatteru no?

Wow, do you do it often?

B:毎週末。

Mai shūmatsu

Every weekend.

A:へえ～。

Heh.

Really?

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Grammar Notes
Here are some examples of how to ask what someone’s hobby is in casual Japanese.
趣味はなに？
空手。

​Shumi wa nani?
​KarateWhat’s your hobby?
Karate.

趣味はなに？
ジョギング。

​Shumi wa nani?
​Jogingu

What’s your hobby?
Jogging.

趣味はなに？
テニス。

​Shumi wa nani?
​Tenisu

What’s your hobby?
Tennis

趣味はなに？
サッカー。

​Shumi wa nani?
​Sakkaa

What’s your hobby?
Football (soccer)

If you want to say it more politely you would say:
趣味はなんですか。
趣味は空手です。

​Shumi wa nan desu ka?
​Shumi wa Karate desu.

What is your hobby?
My hobby is Karate.

Another way to describe your hobbies is:Your hobby + ​SUKI DESU ​which means you like doing something. For example:
ジョギング​が好きです
ハイキング​が好きです
テニス​が好きです
サッカー​が好きです​Jogingu g​ a suki desu.
​Haikingi ​ga suki desu​.
​Tenisu g​ a suki desu​.
​Sakkaa ​ga suki desu

I like jogging.
I like hiking.
I like tenisu.
​I like football (soccer)

More ways to ask about people’s hobbies are:
趣味あるの？
暇な時に何をするの？
何をするのが好き？
最近ハマってることある？

​Shumi aru no?
​Hima na toki ni nani o suru?
​Nani o suru no ga suki?
​Saikin hammatteru koto wa?

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Do you have a hobby?
What do you do in your free time?
What do you like doing?
Recently what are you into?

Another useful pattern you can use to talk about hobbies is:
趣味はSHUMI WA++

映画
EIGA++​(noun)
My hobby is watching movies.

をO++見るMIRU++ことです。
KOTO DESU.

(verb)For example, 趣味は本を読むことです - ​Hon o yomu koto desu​ - My hobby is reading books.
Hon is “book” and yomu is the verb “to read”. If you put KOTO after the verb it’s a little like an -ING verb in
English. So 本を読む means “to read books” but 本を読むこと is a little like “reading books”.
Here are some more examples:
趣味は映画を見ることです。
Shumi wa eiga o miru koto desu.

My hobby is watching movies

趣味は音楽を聴くことです。
Shumi wa ongaku o kiku koto desu

My hobby is listening to music.

趣味は料理をすることです。
Shumi wa ryōri o suru koto desu

My hobby is cooking.

趣味はスキューバダイビングをすることです。 My hobby is scuba diving.
Shumi wa sukuuba daibingu wo suru koto desu.
趣味は絵を描くことです。
Shumi wa e o kaku koto desu.

My hobby is painting pictures.

Instead of 趣味は映画を見ることですyou can say 映画を見ることが好きです。I like watching movies.
So for example:
音楽を聴くことが好きです。
Ongaku o kiku koto ga suki desu.
料理をすることが好きです。
Ryōri o suru koto ga suki desu.

I like listening to music.

I like cooking.

スキューバダイビングをすることが好きです。 I like scuba diving.
Sukuuba daibingu o suru koto ga suki desu.

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I like painting pictures.

絵を描くことが好きです。
E o kaku koto ga suki desu.

So this means when talking about hobbies you have two options, one being a noun phrase and the otherusing a verb linked to the hobby, for example:
趣味は映画鑑賞です。
Shumi wa eigakansh​ō desu
My hobby is moviegoing.

or

趣味は映画を見ることです。
Shumi wa eigo o miru koto desu
I like watching movies.

趣味は水泳です。
Shumi wa suiei desu
My hobby is swimming. (noun)or

趣味は泳ぐことです。
Shumi wa oyogu koto desu.
My hobby is to go swimming. (verb)

趣味は読書です。
Shumi wa dokusho desu
My hobby is reading.

or

趣味は本を読むことです。
Shumi wa hon o yomu koto desu.
My hobby is reading books.

This is a list of some very traditional Japanese hobbies:
生け花
書道
茶道
弓道

​Ikebana​Shodō
​Sadō​Kyūdō

Traditional Japanese flower arranging​Japanese calligraphy
The tea ceremony
Japanese archerySports are usually written in Katakana:
ジョギング
テニス
サッカーハイキング​Jogingu​Tenisu​Sakkaa​Haikingu

JoggingTennis
Football (Soccer)
Haikingu

Learn Japanese PodOther hobbies written in Katakana include the following:
ヨガ
ダンス
カラオケ
スマホゲームビデオゲームドライブ​Yoga​Dansu​Karaoke​Sumaho​ ​geemu​Bideo​ ​geemu​Doraibu

Yoga
Dancing
Karaoke
Playing games on your smartphone.
Video games
Going for a drive

Japanese martial arts are written with Kanji:
柔道
合気道
空手

​Jūdō
​Aikidō​KarateJudo
AikidoKarateHere are some other hobbies that are written using Kanji:
水泳
山登り
音楽
映画鑑賞
買い物
魚釣り
園芸
一人旅

​Swimming​Mountain climbing​Music​Watching movies​Shopping​Fishing​Gardening​Solo trip / Traveling by yourself​Suiei​Yamanobori​Ongaku​Eigakanshō​Kaimono​Sakana tsuri​Engei​Hitori tabi

Here is a list of some of the most popular pastimes in Japan now:
1 写真
2 自転車
3 読書
4 ランニング
5 英会話
6 ヨガ
7 登山
8 株・FX取引
9 瞑想
10 筋トレ​Shashin
Jitensha​Dokusho​Ranningu​Eikaiwa​Yoga​TōzanKabu / FX torihiki​Meisō
Kintore​Photography
Cycling
Reading books
Running
Studying English conversation​Yoga​Mountain climbing
Day trading / Buying and selling stocks​Meditation
Weight lifting

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Random Phrase of the Week
半端ないHanpa nai

Super mega cool

Example sentences:
マジ半端ないあいつ
Maji hanpa nai aitsu
That guy sure is cool.
あの店のハンバーグはんぱない
Ano mise no hanbaagu wa hanpa nai
The hamburger steaks in that restaurant are super delicious.

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