HobbiesDiscussing personal interests, activities, and leisure pursuits in Spanish

When discussing hobbies, it is helpful to know some common activities people enjoy in their free time. Here are several hobbies that are popular among Spanish speakers:

• Leer - Reading
• Escuchar música - Listening to music
• Ver la televisión - Watching TV
• Correr - Running
• Cocinar - Cooking
• Dibujar - Drawing
• Viajar - Traveling

Here are some examples of sentences that describe these activities:

• Me gusta leer libros de ficción. - I like to read fiction books.
• Escucho música clásica todos los días. - I listen to classical music every day.
• Nos encanta ver la televisión por la noche. - We love watching TV at night.
• Él corre en el parque cada mañana. - He runs in the park every morning.
• Ella cocina comida italiana los fines de semana. - She cooks Italian food on weekends.
• Me gusta dibujar paisajes. - I like to draw landscapes.
• Nuestro pasatiempo favorito es viajar a diferentes países. - Our favorite hobby is traveling to different countries.

Learning nouns and verbs related to hobbies can help you express yourself more clearly:

Understanding these terms will also help you ask others about their hobbies:

• ¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre? - What do you like to do in your free time?
• ¿Tienes algún pasatiempo? - Do you have any hobbies?
• ¿Cuál es tu hobby favorito? - What is your favorite hobby?
• ¿Desde cuándo practicas [actividad]? - How long have you been practicing [activity]?
• ¿Te gustaría aprender un nuevo hobby? - Would you like to learn a new hobby?

The following verbs are commonly used to describe engaging in hobbies:

• Practicar (to practice):

• Practicar deportes - To practice sports

  Me gusta practicar deportes los fines de semana.
  I like to practice sports on weekends.

• Jugar (to play):

• Jugar al fútbol - To play soccer

  Nosotros jugamos al fútbol todos los sábados.
  We play soccer every Saturday.

• Leer (to read):

• Leer libros - To read books

  Ella disfruta de leer libros de misterio.
  She enjoys reading mystery books.

• Escribir (to write):

• Escribir cuentos - To write stories

  Le gusta escribir cuentos en su tiempo libre.
  He likes to write stories in his free time.

• Cocinar (to cook):

• Cocinar nuevas recetas - To cook new recipes

  A ellos les encanta cocinar nuevas recetas los domingos.
  They love cooking new recipes on Sundays.

• Viajar (to travel):

• Viajar por el mundo - To travel around the world

  Quieren viajar por el mundo después de jubilarse.
  They want to travel around the world after they retire.

When discussing hobbies in Spanish, using adjectives can add depth and detail to your conversations. Adjectives can describe how the hobby makes you feel, the level of difficulty, and other characteristics that can make your dialogue more interesting.

Here is a list of adjectives that can be used to describe various hobbies:

• Divertido / Divertida - fun
• Difícil - difficult
• Relajante - relaxing
• Emocionante - exciting
• Apasionante - passionate
• Interesante - interesting
• Fascinante - fascinating
• Creativo / Creativa - creative
• Productivo / Productiva - productive
• Desafiante - challenging
• Complicado / Complicada - complicated

Examples of sentences that describe hobbies using these adjectives:

• Leer es muy relajante. - Reading is very relaxing.
• Hacer senderismo puede ser desafiante. - Hiking can be challenging.
• La fotografía es muy creativa. - Photography is very creative.
• Cocinar puede ser complicado pero divertido. - Cooking can be complicated but fun.
• Pintar es un hobby fascinante. - Painting is a fascinating hobby.
• Aprender un idioma nuevo es interesante y productivo. - Learning a new language is interesting and productive.
• Tocar el piano es apasionante. - Playing the piano is passionate.
• Jugar videojuegos es emocionante. - Playing video games is exciting.

Talking about hobbies in Spanish can be fun and engaging. Here are some useful phrases and expressions that you can use:

• Me gusta... - I like...
  • Me gusta leer. - I like to read.
• Disfruto de... - I enjoy...
  • Disfruto de la música. - I enjoy music.
• Estoy interesado/a en... - I am interested in...
  • Estoy interesado en el arte. - I am interested in art.
• Estoy apasionado/a por... - I am passionate about...
  • Estoy apasionado por la fotografía. - I am passionate about photography.
• Dedico tiempo a... - I dedicate time to...
  • Dedico tiempo a la jardinería. - I dedicate time to gardening.
• En mi tiempo libre, yo... - In my free time, I...
  • En mi tiempo libre, yo nado. - In my free time, I swim.

Here are a few more phrases useful for discussing hobbies and activities:

When discussing hobbies, it’s helpful to describe how often you or others engage in these activities. Here are some common phrases and adverbs that you can use to describe the frequency of hobbies:

• todos los días - every day
• una vez a la semana - once a week
• dos veces al mes - twice a month
• de vez en cuando - occasionally
• casi nunca - almost never
• nunca - never

Let’s look at some sample sentences:

• Yo leo libros todos los días. - I read books every day.
• Ella va a nadar una vez a la semana. - She goes swimming once a week.
• Nosotros caminamos en el parque dos veces al mes. - We walk in the park twice a month.
• De vez en cuando, salgo con mis amigos. - Occasionally, I go out with my friends.
• Ellos casi nunca juegan videojuegos. - They almost never play video games.
• Nunca cocino los fines de semana. - I never cook on weekends.

Using these phrases and adverbs can help you clearly communicate about how frequently you engage in your hobbies in Spanish.