How to talk about your hobbies in Japanese
Main Podcast
Japanese Dialogues
Download, Get the App, Subscribe, Tell a friend
✓Download: Main Podcast | Japanese Dialogues | PDF Lesson Notes
✓ Get the app: iTunes App | Android App
✓ Subscribe: iTunes | Android | Spotify | Stitcher | Youtube
✓ Tell a friend: Twitter
Here are four example dialogs from the podcast that give you various examples on how to hold a conversation in natural Japanese about hobbies and free time.
Hobbies 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 to it? |
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 to omotte. | 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? |
Hobbies 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 to it? |
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 da kara yatte miyō kana to omotte. | 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? |
Hobbies 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 to it? |
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 da kara yatte miyō kana to omotte. | 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? |
Hobbies 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 to it? |
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 da kara yatte miyō kana to omotte. | 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 been doing 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? |
Sentences patterns to talk about your hobby in Japanese
Let’s start off with some simple and casual examples of how to talk about hobbies in Japanese.
Japanese | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
趣味はなに?
空手。 |
Shumi wa nani?
Karate |
What’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 |
If you want to say it more politely you would say:
Japanaese | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
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 what you like doing in your free time is this:
Your hobby + SUKI DESU which means you like doing something.
Japanese | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
ジョギングが好きです | Jogingu ga suki desu. | I like jogging. |
ハイキングが好きです | Haikingi ga suki desu. | I like hiking. |
テニスが好きです | Tenisu ga suki desu. | I like tennis. |
サッカーが好きです | Sakkaa ga suki desu | I like football. |
More phrases to ask about people’s hobbies in Japanese
Here are some extra phrases you can use to ask someone what their hobby is.
Japanese | Pronunciation | English |
---|---|---|
趣味あるの? | Shumi aru no? | Do you have a hobby? |
暇な時に何をするの? | Hima na toki ni nani o suru? | What do you do in your free time? |
何をするのが好き? | Nani o suru no ga suki? | What do you like doing? |
最近ハマってることある? | Saikin hammatteru koto wa? | Recently what are you into? |
Another useful pattern you can use to talk about your hobbies is this:
趣味は + NOUN + を + VERB + ことです。
SHUMI WA +NOUN + O +VERB + KOTO DESU.
My hobby is doing something
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。 My hobby is watching movies.
Shumi wa eiga o miru koto desu.
趣味は音楽を聴くことです。 My hobby is listening to music.
Shumi wa ongaku o kiku koto desu
趣味は料理をすることです。 My hobby is cooking.
Shumi wa ryōri o suru koto desu
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。 My hobby is painting pictures.
Shumi wa e o kaku koto desu.
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。 I like listening to music.
Ongaku o kiku koto ga suki desu.
料理をすることが好きです。 I like cooking.
Ryōri o suru koto ga suki desu.
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.
絵を描くことが好きです。 I like painting pictures.
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 other using a verb linked to the hobby, for example:
Option 1 | Option 2 | |
---|---|---|
趣味は映画鑑賞です。
Shumi wa eigakanshō 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 Ikebana Traditional Japanese flower arranging
書道 Shodō Japanese calligraphy
茶道 Sadō The tea ceremony
弓道 Kyūdō Japanese archery
Sports are usually written in Katakana:
ジョギング Jogingu Jogging
テニス Tenisu Tennis
サッカー Sakkaa Football (Soccer)
ハイキング Haikingu Haikingu
Other hobbies written in Katakana include the following:
ヨガ Yoga Yoga
ダンス Dansu Dancing
カラオケ Karaoke Karaoke
スマホゲーム Sumaho geemu Playing games on your smartphone.
ビデオゲーム Bideo geemu Video games
ドライブ Doraibu Going for a drive
Japanese martial arts are written with Kanji:
柔道 Jūdō Judo
合気道 Aikidō Aikido
空手 Karate Karate
Here are some other hobbies that are written using Kanji:
水泳 Suiei Swimming
山登り Yamanobori Mountain climbing
音楽 Ongaku Music
映画鑑賞 Eigakanshō Watching movies
買い物 Kaimono Shopping
魚釣り Sakana tsuri Fishing
園芸 Engei Gardening
一人旅 Hitori tabi Solo trip / Traveling by yourself
Here is a list of some of the most popular pastimes in Japan now:
1 写真 Shashin Photography
2 自転車 Jitensha Cycling
3 読書 Dokusho Reading books
4 ランニング Ranningu Running
5 英会話 Eikaiwa Studying English conversation
6 ヨガ Yoga Yoga
7 登山 Tōzan Mountain climbing
8 株・FX取引 Kabu / FX torihiki Day trading / Buying and selling stocks
9 瞑想 Meisō Meditation
10 筋トレ Kintore Weight lifting
No comments yet.