How to Talk About Your Hobbies

Learn how to talk about your hobbies

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do German by GermanPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your hobbies in German.

For example, "I like fishing." is

Mein Hobby ist Angeln.

Two neighbors, Jonas Jäger and Aron Ahrens , are having a conversation in an apartment building lobby.

Before you hear their conversation, let’s preview some of its key components.

Angeln

"fishing"

Angeln

Hobby

"hobby"

Hobby

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response.

Note: the speakers in this conversation use informal German.

Ready?

Was sind deine Hobbys?

Mein Hobby ist Angeln.

Once more with the English translation.

Was sind deine Hobbys?

"What are your hobbies?"

Mein Hobby ist Angeln.

"My hobby is fishing."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Jonas Jager asks,

"What are your hobbies?"

Was sind deine Hobbys?

Let's start with the word, Hobbys, "hobbies." Hobbys. Hobbys.

Hobbys is plural — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

In German all plural nouns behave the same way whether they’re masculine, feminine or neuter.

Note: at this point in your language journey, it might be helpful to remember that the feminine singular definite article is usually the same as the plural definite article.

Before Hobbys is deine, meaning "your." Deine. Deine.

Deine is plural to agree with Hobbys.

Together, deine Hobbys. "Your hobbies." Deine Hobbys.

Moving to the start of the sentence, was, "what." Was. Was.

Next is sind, "are," as in "what are..." Sind. Sind.

Sind is from the verb sein, meaning "to be." Sein.

All together, it's Was sind deine Hobbys? "What are your hobbies?"

Was sind deine Hobbys?

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Aron Ahrens says,

"My hobby is fishing."

Mein Hobby ist Angeln.

First is Mein Hobby, "My hobby." Mein Hobby.

Let's start with Hobby, "hobby." Hobby , Hobby.

In German, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Hobby is neuter and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.

Before Hobby is mein, "my." Mein. Mein.

Mein is masculine and singular to agree with Hobby.

Together it's mein Hobby. "My hobby." Mein Hobby.

Next is ist, "is." Ist. Ist.

Ist is from the verb sein, "to be." Sein.

Last is Angeln. "Fishing." Angeln. Angeln.

All together it's Mein Hobby ist Angeln. "My hobby is fishing."

Mein Hobby ist Angeln.

The pattern is

Mein Hobby ist ACTIVITY.

"My hobby is ACTIVITY."

Mein Hobby ist ACTIVITY.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {ACTIVITY} placeholder with an activity you like to do.

Note: the placeholder is a noun and must be placed in the dictionary form.

Imagine you like soccer, Fußball. Fußball. Fußball.

Say

"My hobby is soccer."

Ready?

Mein Hobby ist Fußball.

"My hobby is soccer."

Mein Hobby ist Fußball.

In German, the following pattern is also very common:

Ich mag ACTIVITY.

"I like ACTIVITY."

For example,

Ich mag Filme. "I like movies." Ich mag Filme. Ich mag Filme.

If you'd like to list more than one hobby in your answer, you can connect the hobbies with und meaning "and." Und.

Meine Hobbys sind Fußball und Angeln. "My hobbies are soccer and fishing."

Ich mag Filme und Musik. "I like movies and music."

Notice how Mein Hobby ist, "My hobby is…," becomes Meine Hobbys sind, "My hobbies are..."

Again, the key pattern is

Mein Hobby ist ACTIVITY.

"My hobby is ACTIVITY."

Mein Hobby ist ACTIVITY.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Mein Hobby ist Angeln.

"My hobby is fishing."

Mein Hobby ist Angeln.

Mein Hobby ist Fußball.

"My hobby is soccer."

Mein Hobby ist Fußball.

Ich mag Reisen.

"I like traveling."

Ich mag Reisen.

Meine Hobbys sind Schwimmen und Lesen.

"My hobbies are swimming and reading."

Meine Hobbys sind Schwimmen und Lesen.

Ich koche gern.

"I like to cook."

Ich koche gern.

Did you notice how the last speaker uses a different pattern?

Ich koche gern.

"I like to cook."

First is ich, "I." Ich. Ich

Next is koche, "cook," as in "I cook." Koche. Koche.

Note, koche is from the verb kochen, meaning "to cook." Kochen.

Next is gern, meaning, "like to" or "love to," in this context. Gern. Gern.

Together it's Ich koche gern. Literally this means "I cook like to," but it translates as "I like to cook."

Ich koche gern.

This pattern is:

Ich ACTIVITY gern.

"I like to ACTIVITY."

Note, it is also common to hear gerne in place of gern, Ich koche gerne. Both are acceptable.

You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Let's review the new words.

reisen

"traveling"

reisen

schwimmen

"swimming"

schwimmen

filme

"movies"

filme

filme.

musik

"music"

musik

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "hobby?"

Hobby.

And how to say "my hobby?"

Mein Hobby.

Do you remember the word for "fishing?"

Angeln.

Do you remember how Aron Ahrens says,

"My hobby is fishing."

Mein Hobby ist Angeln.

Do you remember how to say "your hobby?"

dein Hobby

Do you remember how Jonas Jager asks,

"What are your hobbies?"

Was sind deine Hobbies?

Do you remember the word for "soccer?"

Fußball.

And the word for "swimming?"

Schwimmen.

Do you remember the word for "traveling?"

Reisen.

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Jonas Jager , and you like soccer, or Fußball in German.

Ready?

Was sind deine Hobbies?

Mein Hobby ist Fußball.

Listen again and repeat.

Mein Hobby ist Fußball.

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Annemarie Adler , and you like traveling, or Reisen in German.

Ready?

Was sind Ihre Hobbies?

Mein Hobby ist Reisen.

Listen again and repeat.

Mein Hobby ist Reisen.

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Marvin Maas , and you like swimming, or Schwimmen in German.

Ready?

Was sind Ihre Hobbies?

Mein Hobby ist Schwimmen.

Listen again and repeat.

Mein Hobby ist Schwimmen.

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About Hobbies unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

What's next?

Show us what you can do.

When you're ready, take your assessment.

You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results.

Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson!

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