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Lesson 18

Describing Hobbies and Leisure Activities

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Hello! Welcome back to your Spanish course.

In our last lesson, you mastered the grammatical structure for expressing likes and dislikes with verbs like gustar. You learned the "backwards" construction where you say something "is pleasing to you" (me gusta...) and how to use the correct pronouns (me, te, le, nos, les) and verb forms (gusta vs. gustan).

Today, we'll put that structure to immediate, practical use. This lesson focuses on describing hobbies and leisure activities. We will equip you with the necessary vocabulary to talk about your interests, a perfect topic for the kind of small talk you'll be having at the wedding in Colombia. You'll learn how to ask people about their hobbies and share your own, moving from grammatical theory to conversational application.

1. The Vocabulary of Hobbies: Using Infinitives

In Spanish, when we talk about activities we like to do, we generally use the verb in its infinitive form (the basic, unconjugated form ending in -ar, -er, or -ir). This is a simple and powerful rule.

  • To say "I like to read," you say Me gusta **leer**.
  • To say "We like to travel," you say Nos gusta **viajar**.

Let's start by building your vocabulary for common hobbies.

A List of Common Free Time Activities in Spanish

The article 'A List of Common Free Time Activities in Spanish' from Spanish Learning Lab gives a great introduction to the vocabulary and the concept of using infinitives for hobbies.

Please read the first section, 'Vocabulary Introduction: Common free time activities in Spanish'. Focus on understanding the terms 'pasatiempos' and 'aficiones', and the core principle that hobbies are represented by verbs in the infinitive.

Now, let's watch a video that presents a list of common hobbies with pronunciation. This will help you associate the words with their sounds and meanings.

Hobbies in Spanish: Vocabulary and Sentences

The video 'Hobbies in Spanish' from Spanish Learning Lab provides a clear, visual list of common hobbies.

Watch from the beginning until 02:04. As you watch, try to repeat the words to practice your pronunciation. Don't worry about memorizing them all at once; the goal is to get familiar with them.

Here is a simple visual list of some of those activities to help you remember them.

Spanish Hobbies Vocabulary List
This image provides a quick-reference vocabulary list for hobbies such as 'leer' (to read), 'bailar' (to dance), 'cocinar' (to cook), and 'viajar' (to travel), each with a helpful icon.

2. Building Sentences with gustar

Now, let's combine this new vocabulary with the gustar structure you learned in the last lesson. This is where your knowledge becomes conversational.

Remember the system:
A [person] + [pronoun] + no (optional) + gusta + [hobby/infinitive]

  • I like to run: (A mí) me gusta correr.
  • She doesn't like to cook: A ella no le gusta cocinar.

The article below provides an excellent refresher and a systematic chart that maps pronouns to the gustar structure, which should be helpful for reinforcing the pattern.

Hobbies in Spanish: A List of Activities, Likes and Dislikes

The article 'Hobbies in Spanish: A List of Activities, Likes and Dislikes' complements the video you just saw. It provides a written explanation of the 'gustar' structure in the context of hobbies.

Please read the sections 'Expressing Likes and Dislikes in Spanish with GUSTAR', 'How to conjugate GUSTAR...', and 'Sentences with a list of activities...'. Pay close attention to the chart in the second section—it's a great systematic reference. Notice how the examples in the third section combine the verb 'gustar' with the hobby infinitives.

Test your understanding!

Let's practice building some sentences. How would you say the following in Spanish?

  1. I like to travel.
  2. He likes to play the guitar. (tocar la guitarra)
  3. We don't like to watch TV. (ver televisión)
  4. Do you (informal) like to dance?
Show answer
  1. (A mí) me gusta viajar.
  2. (A él) le gusta tocar la guitarra.
  3. (A nosotros) no nos gusta ver televisión.
  4. ¿(A ti) te gusta bailar?

3. Asking About Hobbies

Now that you can state your preferences, let's learn how to ask others about theirs. This is the key to turning a statement into a conversation. Here are the most common questions:

  • ¿Qué te gusta hacer en tu tiempo libre? (What do you like to do in your free time?)
  • ¿Cuál es tu pasatiempo favorito? (What is your favorite hobby?)
  • ¿Cuáles son tus pasatiempos? (What are your hobbies?)

Notice the use of te for the informal "you." You can swap it out for le to ask someone formally (¿Qué le gusta hacer...?), which will be particularly useful in Colombia where usted is common.

Let's see how these questions are used in practice.

Hobbies in Spanish: Vocabulary and Sentences

This segment of the 'Hobbies in Spanish' video demonstrates how to ask and answer questions about favorite hobbies.

Please watch from 01:34 to 02:42 to see the questions in action. Then, watch the examples from 05:37 to 07:45, paying attention to how questions are formed and answered for different activities.

4. Listening in Action: A Natural Conversation

You've learned the vocabulary and the grammatical structures. Now, let's observe them in a natural, slow-paced conversation. Your goal here isn't to understand every single word, but to listen for the key concepts you've learned today:

  • Which hobbies do the speakers mention?
  • How do they say they like or dislike an activity?
  • What questions do they ask each other?

11 Minute Slow Spanish Conversation about Hobbies | Super Easy Spanish 130

The 'Easy Spanish' channel produces fantastic videos with clear audio and subtitles. In this conversation, Aida and David talk about their hobbies.

Watch the first part of the conversation, from the beginning until 03:46. Try to identify the hobbies they discuss (e.g., playing an instrument, listening to something, cooking) and the phrases they use to express their preferences.

Did you notice their exchange?

  • David says: En mi tiempo libre me gusta tocar la guitarra. (In my free time I like to play the guitar.)
  • Aida says she prefers podcasts: Prefiero escuchar podcast. Then she asks him: ¿Te gustan los podcast? (Do you like podcasts?).
  • She mentions her own hobby: Me gusta mucho cocinar. (I like to cook a lot.)

This is exactly the kind of back-and-forth exchange that constitutes small talk.

Conclusion

Excellent work. You've successfully connected the grammatical framework from the last lesson with the practical vocabulary needed for a real conversation. You now have a solid foundation for discussing interests and getting to know people—a crucial skill for any social gathering.

Key Takeaways:

  • Hobbies and leisure activities are typically expressed using infinitive verbs (leer, viajar, bailar).
  • You can talk about your preferences by plugging this vocabulary directly into the gustar structure: Me gusta cocinar.
  • Key questions to start a conversation about hobbies are: ¿Qué te gusta hacer? and ¿Cuáles son tus pasatiempos?
  • This combination of vocabulary and grammar allows you to both share your interests and ask others about theirs.

Preview of the Next Lesson:
You can now say what you like to do (Me gusta correr). But how often do you do it? In the next lesson, "Express frequency using adverbs," we'll add another layer to your descriptive abilities. You'll learn to use words like siempre (always), a veces (sometimes), and nunca (never) to make your conversational skills even more nuanced.