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Chapter 4 of 8

Hobbies, Leisure and Free Time

German has plenty of vocabulary for describing how you spend your Freizeit (free time) and what your Hobbys are. Nouns in this area include der Sport (sport), die Musik (music), der Film (film), das Buch (book), das Spiel (game), der Ausflug (excursion or trip), and die Party (party). You might introduce your pastime by saying "Mein Hobby ist Fotografieren" (My hobby is photography), describe your habits with "In meiner Freizeit lese ich gern" (In my free time I like to read), or comment on how often you exercise: "Ich mache dreimal pro Woche Sport" (I do sport three times a week). Cultural preferences appear in sentences like "Sie hört gern klassische Musik" (She likes to listen to classical music).

Specific activities are expressed through verbs such as schwimmen (to swim), tanzen (to dance), singen (to sing), malen (to paint or draw), and verreisen (to travel). Typical sentences include "Im Sommer gehe ich oft schwimmen" (In summer I often go swimming) and "Sie tanzt sehr gut" (She dances very well). Creative activities are described with "Das Kind malt ein Bild" (The child is painting a picture), and group activities with "Wir singen zusammen im Chor" (We sing together in a choir). Verreisen covers any kind of travel, especially during holidays: "Im Urlaub verreisen wir oft" (On holiday we often travel).

Social and relaxation activities use reflexive verbs. Sich treffen (to meet) is essential for planning get-togethers, as in "Wir treffen uns am Samstag" (We're meeting on Saturday), and ausgehen (to go out) covers evenings out: "Heute Abend gehe ich mit Freunden aus" (Tonight I'm going out with friends). For unwinding, the verb sich entspannen (to relax) appears in "Am Sonntag entspanne ich mich" (On Sunday I relax). You can describe events with enthusiasm using expressions like "Die Party war toll" (The party was great), "Der Film war spannend" (The film was exciting), or "Am Wochenende machen wir einen Ausflug" (We're going on an excursion at the weekend).

All chapters
  1. 1Work and the Office
  2. 2Money, Shopping and Daily Errands
  3. 3Feelings, Moods and Personal Traits
  4. 4Hobbies, Leisure and Free Time
  5. 5Technology, Media and Communication
  6. 6The City, Travel and Nature
  7. 7Time, Opinions and Conversations
  8. 8Everyday Life — Dining, Documents and Common Verbs

Drill it

Reading is not remembering. These come from the German A2 Vocab deck:

Q

work / job

die Arbeit Die Arbeit macht mir Spaß. (I enjoy the work.)

Q

job / profession

der Beruf Was sind Sie von Beruf? (What is your profession?)

Q

office

das Büro Ich arbeite in einem großen Büro. (I work in a big office.)

Q

colleague (male)

der Kollege Mein Kollege hilft mir oft. (My colleague often helps me.)