Talking About Your Hobbies - Part 1

Learn how to discuss your hobbies

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Lesson Transcript

Hi 大家好,我是云。

(Hi Dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì yún.)

Hi everyone, my name is Yun.

Welcome to another Chinese whiteboard lesson.

In this lesson, we'll go over 20 of the most common hobbies in Chinese.

Let's get started.

Everyone has their hobbies

whether you're into books, sports, or other activities

I'm sure you'll find one on this list.

These words will help you chat about your favorite activities with native speakers.

Let's start with indoor activities first.

First one

看书

(Kànshū)

to read.

So 看 here means to look at, and 书 means book.

So 看书 (Kànshū) together means to read a book.

看书

(Kànshū)

看电影

(Kàn diànyǐng)

to watch movies.

So same here, we use the same verb 看

to look at, to watch, and 电影 means movie.

So 看电影 (Kàn diànyǐng) means to watch movies

看电影.

(Kàn diànyǐng)

听音乐

(Tīng yīnyuè)

to listen to music.

So 听, this verb means to listen

音乐 means music.

So 听音乐 (Tīng yīnyuè) together, to listen to music.

听音乐

(Tīng yīnyuè)

打游戏

Dǎ yóuxì

to play video games.

So 打, this verb here, you see the radical here on the left side means hand.

So means this activity involves your hands.

So 打游戏 (Dǎ yóuxì) to play video games.

打游戏

(Dǎ yóuxì)

and same here

打麻将

(Dǎ májiàng)

to play mahjong.

打, here it's the same,

so it's often used to indicate participation in a game or sport

that typically involves physical interaction

such as hitting, striking, or manipulating objects.

打麻将

(Dǎ májiàng)

to play mahjong

打麻将.

(Dǎ májiàng)

And 麻将 is a very popular activity among retired people in China.

It's not just a video game,

it's a board game, so very popular among elderly people.

Number 6

学外语

(Xué wàiyǔ)

to learn foreign languages.

学, to learn, to study

and 外语 means foreign language.

So 学外语 (Xué wàiyǔ) to learn foreign languages.

学外语

(Xué wàiyǔ)

做饭

(Zuò fàn)

to cook

so 做 means to make

and 饭 usually means a meal or cooked rice.

So 做饭 (Zuò fàn) together means to cook

做饭

(Zuò fàn)

逛街

(Guàngjiē)

to shop

逛 means to stroll

and 街 means street, to stroll a street, to shop.

逛街.

(Guàngjiē)

跳舞

(Tiàowǔ)

to dance

跳 is a verb, means to jump

and 舞 means dance

so to jump or dance literally means to dance.

跳舞

(Tiàowǔ)

表演

(Biǎoyǎn)

to act or to perform.

表演.

(Biǎoyǎn)

Now moving on to the outdoor activities

here

运动

(Yùndòng)

to do sports

运动

(Yùndòng)

游泳

(Yóuyǒng0

to swim.

游泳

(Yóuyǒng)

滑雪

(Huáxuě)

to ski

滑 is a verb, means to slide or to slip

and 雪 means snow

so 滑雪 (Huáxuě) together means to ski.

滑雪

(Huáxuě)

打网球

(Dǎ wǎngqiú)

to play tennis

so here, that is the same as here, number 4 and number 5

that's the same verb,

so which means it involves your hands

and

网球 is tennis

so 打网球 (Dǎ wǎngqiú) means to play tennis

打网球

(Dǎ wǎngqiú)

踢足球

(Tī zúqiú)

to play soccer

踢 means to kick

and 足球 means football

so 踢足球 (Tī zúqiú) means to play soccer

踢足球.

(Tī zúqiú.)

跑步

(Pǎobù)

to run

跑步

(Pǎobù)

钓鱼

(Diàoyú)

to fish

so 鱼 here means fish

钓鱼

(Diàoyú)

to fish

钓鱼.

(Diàoyú)

露营

(Lùyíng)

to camp

露营

(Lùyíng)

摄影

(Shèyǐng)

to take photos

摄影.

(Shèyǐng)

Last one

旅游

(Lǚyóu)

to travel

旅游

(Lǚyóu)

so what hobby do you have?

I like to read

看书

(Kànshū)

学外语

(Xué wàiyǔ)

and

做饭

(Zuò fàn)

to cook

and I'm not a very outdoorsy person, so

but I definitely like to travel

旅游.

(Lǚyóu.)

Now, let's go over these 20 words one more time.

看书

(Kànshū)

to read

看电影

(Kàn diànyǐng)

to watch movies

听音乐

(Tīng yīnyuè)

to listen to music

打游戏

(Dǎ yóuxì)

to play video games

打麻将

(Dǎ májiàng)

to play mahjong

学外语

(Xué wàiyǔ)

to learn foreign languages

做饭

(Zuò fàn)

to cook

逛街

(Guàngjiē)

to shop

跳舞

(Tiàowǔ)

to dance

表演

(Biǎoyǎn)

to act

运动

(Yùndòng)

to do sports

游泳

(Yóuyǒng)

to swim

滑雪

(Huáxuě)

to ski

打网球

(Dǎ wǎngqiú)

to play tennis

踢足球

(Tī zúqiú)

to play soccer

跑步

(Pǎobù)

to run

钓鱼

(Diàoyú)

to fish

露营

(Lùyíng)

to camp

摄影

(Shèyǐng)

to take photos and last one

旅游

(Lǚyóu)

to travel.

Next, I'm going to read a short dialogue.

Two friends are chatting, and one is asking the other about his hobby.

你有什么爱好?

(Nǐ yǒu shé me àihào?)

我喜欢露营。

(Wǒ xǐhuān lùyíng.)

Okay, I'm going to read it one more time, a bit slower.

你有什么爱好?

(Nǐ yǒu shé me àihào?)

我喜欢露营。

(Wǒ xǐhuān lùyíng.)

So, what is their hobby?

露营 (Lùyíng) which means to camp

露营

(Lùyíng)

and the question is 你有什么爱好? (Nǐ yǒu shé me àihào?)

Literally, you have what hobby?

So, what hobby do you have?

So, what's your hobby?

Now, let's look at a few more examples of talking about one's own hobby.

我喜欢旅游。

(Wǒ xǐhuān lǚyóu.)

I like to travel.

我喜欢旅游。

(Wǒ xǐhuān lǚyóu.)

旅游

(Lǚyóu)

to travel.

我喜欢看书。

(Wǒ xǐhuān kànshū.)

I like to read.

我喜欢看书。

(Wǒ xǐhuān kànshū.)

看书

(Kànshū)

to read.

我喜欢打网球。

(Wǒ xǐhuān dǎ wǎngqiú.)

I like to play tennis.

我喜欢打网球。

(Wǒ xǐhuān dǎ wǎngqiú.)

打网球

(Dǎ wǎngqiú)

to play tennis.

我喜欢摄影。

(Wǒ xǐhuān shèyǐng.)

I like to take photos.

我喜欢摄影。

(Wǒ xǐhuān shèyǐng.)

摄影

(Shèyǐng)

to take photos.

我喜欢钓鱼。

(Wǒ xǐhuān diàoyú.)

I like to fish.

我喜欢钓鱼。

(Wǒ xǐhuān diàoyú.)

钓鱼

(Diàoyú)

to fish.

Let's look at the grammar pattern here.

From all the examples, we can come up with this pattern.

我喜欢 plus verb or verb phrases.

I like, plus verb or verb phrases.

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