A great way to practice your Japanese speaking skills and to get to know people in Japan is to talk about free time and hobbies. In a casual setting you may be asked what you do in your free time by Japanese people. So this lesson will teach you the basics of how to ask and answer questions about hobbies. But first of all, listen to the audio podcast which goes through all the points in this lesson. You can also listen to the audio drills which include just the Japanese dialogs without English to practice your listening and speaking skills.

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.

Let’s start off with some simple and casual examples of how to talk about hobbies in Japanese.

If you want to say it more politely you would say:

Another way to describe what you like doing in your free time is this:

Your hobby + SUKI DESU which means you like doing something.

Here are some extra phrases you can use to ask someone what their hobby is.

Another useful pattern you can use to talk about your hobbies is this:

趣味は + NOUN + 

WO

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:

My hobby is moviegoing.

I like watching movies.

My hobby is swimming. (noun)

My hobby is to go swimming. (verb)

My hobby is reading.

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