Hobbies & Free Time

German Basic Conversation 2

Chapter 2 · Hobbies & Free Time

🎸 Hobbies & Free Time — Freizeit und Hobbys

Say what you like doing in your free time, how often you do it, and what you prefer — and ask other people the same. Talking about hobbies is one of the easiest ways to keep a conversation going with someone new.

💬 Six Short Conversations — Gespräche

Read each one aloud, using the pronunciation line. CAPITALS show the stressed part of a word.

① Free Time — Was machst du in deiner Freizeit?

A: Was machst du in deiner Freizeit? vahs makhst doo in DY-ner FRY-tsite What do you do in your free time?

B: Ich lese gern und ich höre Musik. ikh LAY-zuh GAIRN oont ikh HUR-uh moo-ZEEK I like reading and I listen to music.

A: Ich auch! Ich lese viel. ikh OWKH. ikh LAY-zuh FEEL Me too! I read a lot.

② Sport — Machst du Sport?

A: Machst du Sport? makhst doo SHPORT Do you do any sport?

B: Ja, ich spiele gern Fußball. Und du? yah, ikh SHPEE-luh gairn FOOS-bahl. oont DOO Yes, I like playing football. And you?

A: Ich schwimme und ich fahre gern Rad. ikh SHVIM-uh oont ikh FAH-ruh gairn RAHT I swim and I like cycling.

③ How Often? — Wie oft?

A: Wie oft gehst du schwimmen? vee OFT gayst doo SHVIM-en How often do you go swimming?

B: Zweimal pro Woche. Und du? TSVY-mahl proh VOKH-uh. oont DOO Twice a week. And you?

A: Nur am Wochenende. Ich habe wenig Zeit. NOOR ahm VOKH-en-en-duh. ikh HAH-buh VAY-nikh TSITE Only at the weekend. I have little time.

④ Preferences — Ich höre lieber Rock

A: Hörst du gern Musik? hurst doo GAIRN moo-ZEEK Do you like listening to music?

B: Ja, sehr gern. Ich höre lieber Rock als Pop. yah, zair GAIRN. ikh HUR-uh LEE-ber ROK ahls POP Yes, very much. I prefer listening to rock rather than pop.

A: Und am liebsten? oont ahm LEEP-sten And what do you like best of all?

B: Am liebsten höre ich Jazz. ahm LEEP-sten HUR-uh ikh JAHTS Best of all I like listening to jazz.

⑤ Do You Have a Hobby? — Hast du ein Hobby?

A: Hast du ein Hobby? hahst doo ine HOB-ee Do you have a hobby?

B: Ja, ich spiele Gitarre und ich fotografiere gern. yah, ikh SHPEE-luh gi-TAH-ruh oont ikh foh-toh-grah-FEE-ruh gairn Yes, I play guitar and I like taking photos.

A: Das klingt gut! Ich lerne gern Deutsch. dahs KLINGT GOOT. ikh LAIR-nuh gairn DOYTSH That sounds good! I like learning German.

⑥ Formal: Hiking — Gehen Sie oft wandern?

A: Was machen Sie gern in Ihrer Freizeit? vahs MAKH-en zee gairn in EE-rer FRY-tsite What do you like doing in your free time?

B: Ich gehe gern wandern. Und Sie? ikh GAY-uh gairn VAHN-dern. oont ZEE I like going hiking. And you?

A: Ich gehe gern ins Kino. Gehen Sie oft wandern? ikh GAY-uh gairn ins KEE-noh. GAY-en zee OFT VAHN-dern I like going to the cinema. Do you often go hiking?

B: Fast jedes Wochenende. FAHST YAY-des VOKH-en-en-duh Almost every weekend.

🗝️ Key Phrases — Wichtige Sätze

You want to…	Formal (Sie)	Informal (du)
Ask about free time	Was machen Sie in Ihrer Freizeit?	Was machst du in deiner Freizeit?
Ask about a hobby	Haben Sie ein Hobby?	Hast du ein Hobby?
Ask what someone likes doing	Was machen Sie gern?	Was machst du gern?
Ask how often	Wie oft gehen Sie schwimmen?	Wie oft gehst du schwimmen?
Say what you like doing	Ich lese gern. / Ich spiele gern Fußball.
Say what you don't like doing	Ich koche nicht gern.
Say what you prefer	Ich wandere lieber.
Say what you like best	Am liebsten spiele ich Gitarre.
React to what someone says	Das klingt gut! / Ich auch! / Wirklich?

Three verbs — drei Verben

Spielen is regular. Lesen and treffen change their vowel with du and er: du liest, du triffst — the same kind of change as essen and fahren in Chapter 1.

Who	spielen (to play)	lesen (to read)	treffen (to meet)
ich	ich spiele ikh SHPEE-luh	ich lese ikh LAY-zuh	ich treffe ikh TREF-uh
du	du spielst doo shpeelst	du liest doo leest	du triffst doo trifst
er / sie	er spielt air shpeelt	er liest air leest	er trifft air trift
Sie	Sie spielen zee SHPEE-len	Sie lesen zee LAY-zen	Sie treffen zee TREF-en

❤️ Gern, Lieber, Am Liebsten — Likes and Preferences

Three little words do most of the work when you talk about what you like. They go straight after the verb and its object.

Word	Meaning	Example	Say it
gern	like doing	Ich schwimme gern.	ikh SHVIM-uh gairn
nicht gern	don't like doing	Ich koche nicht gern.	ikh KOKH-uh nikht gairn
lieber	prefer doing	Ich wandere lieber.	ikh VAHN-deh-ruh LEE-ber
am liebsten	like doing best of all	Am liebsten spiele ich Gitarre.	ahm LEEP-sten SHPEE-luh ikh gi-TAH-ruh

"Gern" Is Not a Verb English says "I like swimming", with the verb like. German usually says "I swim gladly": Ich schwimme gern. So you don't need a verb for "like" at all — you just add gern after the activity. Lieber means "more gladly" (I'd rather) and am liebsten means "most gladly" (my favourite). When am liebsten starts the sentence, the verb comes straight after it: Am liebsten spiele ich…, just like after dann in Chapter 1.

🏃 Things to Do — Aktivitäten

Most activities are a short phrase with a verb you already know. Notice the ones with gehen: you say Ich gehe schwimmen — literally "I go swimming".

English	German	Say it
to read	lesen	LAY-zen
to listen to music	Musik hören	moo-ZEEK HUR-en
to play football	Fußball spielen	FOOS-bahl SHPEE-len
to play guitar	Gitarre spielen	gi-TAH-ruh SHPEE-len
to go swimming	schwimmen gehen	SHVIM-en GAY-en
to go hiking	wandern gehen	VAHN-dern GAY-en
to go cycling	Rad fahren	RAHT FAH-ren
to go to the cinema	ins Kino gehen	ins KEE-noh GAY-en
to meet friends	Freunde treffen	FROYN-duh TREF-en
to take photos	fotografieren	foh-toh-grah-FEE-ren
to dance	tanzen	TAHN-tsen
to watch TV	fernsehen	FERN-zay-en

Infinitive Goes to the End In Ich gehe gern wandern the second verb stays in its basic form (wandern) and goes to the end, while gehe does the changing. Another separable verb: fernsehen splits like aufstehen in Chapter 1 — Ich sehe abends fern (I watch TV in the evenings).

🔁 How Often — Wie oft?

German	Say it	English
oft	oft	often
selten	ZEL-ten	rarely
einmal pro Woche	INE-mahl proh VOKH-uh	once a week
zweimal pro Woche	TSVY-mahl proh VOKH-uh	twice a week
am Wochenende	ahm VOKH-en-en-duh	at the weekend
jeden Samstag	YAY-den ZAHMS-tahk	every Saturday
fast jedes Wochenende	FAHST YAY-des VOKH-en-en-duh	almost every weekend

You already know immer, meistens, manchmal and nie from Chapter 1, and they fit here too: Ich lese immer abends.

📖 Vocabulary — Wortschatz

20 key words and phrases from this chapter (more activities are in the table above).

#	German	Say it	English	Type	Note
1	die Freizeit	FRY-tsite	free time	noun	frei = free, Zeit = time
2	das Hobby	HOB-ee	hobby	noun	plural: die Hobbys
3	der Sport	shport	sport	noun	Sport machen = do sport
4	das Wochenende	VOKH-en-en-duh	weekend	noun	am Wochenende
5	der Freund / die Freundin	froynt / FROYN-din	friend	noun	man / woman; plural: die Freunde
6	die Musik	moo-ZEEK	music	noun	Musik hören
7	spielen	SHPEE-len	to play	verb	ich spiele
8	lesen	LAY-zen	to read	verb	du liest
9	hören	HUR-en	to hear / listen	verb	ö: lips as for "oh", say "eh"
10	schwimmen	SHVIM-en	to swim	verb	ich schwimme
11	wandern	VAHN-dern	to hike	verb	ich wandere
12	treffen	TREF-en	to meet	verb	du triffst
13	tanzen	TAHN-tsen	to dance	verb	z = "ts"
14	gern	gairn	gladly / like doing	adv	after the verb
15	lieber	LEE-ber	rather / prefer	adv	"ie" = "ee"
16	am liebsten	ahm LEEP-sten	best of all	phrase	"b" sounds like "p" here
17	oft	oft	often	adv	Wie oft? = How often?
18	selten	ZEL-ten	rarely	adv
19	einmal pro Woche	INE-mahl proh VOKH-uh	once a week	phrase	zweimal = twice
20	Das klingt gut!	dahs KLINGT goot	That sounds good!	phrase	a friendly reaction

Real German Tip — "Spaß machen" A very common way to say something is fun is Das macht Spaß (dahs MAKHT SHPAHS) — "That's fun". Spaß means "fun", and you'll hear it everywhere: Viel Spaß! (FEEL shpahs) = "Have fun!" — the natural thing to say to someone who is heading off to do something enjoyable.

Real German Tip — Clubs Many people in German-speaking countries belong to a Verein (fair-INE), a club, for a sport or hobby — football, choirs, hiking and many others. If you want to meet people and practise German, joining one is a popular way to do it, and Hast du ein Hobby? is a good way to start the conversation.

✍️ Try It Yourself — Übungen

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check. Use your own hobbies where you like.

1. Ask a friend (informal) what they do in their free time.

Show answer

Was machst du in deiner Freizeit?

2. Say you like reading and you like playing the guitar.

Show answer

Ich lese gern und ich spiele gern Gitarre. (Gern comes after the verb, and after the object if there is one.)

3. Say you don't like cooking, and that you would rather go out to eat (essen gehen).

Show answer

Ich koche nicht gern. Ich gehe lieber essen. (Lieber after gehe; the second verb essen goes to the end.)

4. Politely ask someone (formal) how often they go hiking.

Show answer

Wie oft gehen Sie wandern?

5. Say you go swimming twice a week, and that you rarely go to the cinema.

Show answer

Ich gehe zweimal pro Woche schwimmen. Ich gehe selten ins Kino.

6. Say that best of all you like meeting friends at the weekend.

Show answer

Am liebsten treffe ich am Wochenende Freunde. (Verb straight after am liebsten.)

Coming Up in Chapter 3 You can now talk about your interests. Next: making plans and invitations — suggesting something to do, accepting or turning down an invitation politely, and arranging when and where to meet.