Talking about hobbies in Spanish is a topic that needs to be mastered since it is a recurrent theme of conversation. When introducing oneself, people tend to talk about their free time activities, hobbies or sports. It is a good way to start a small talk and practice your spanish. When you run out of topics of conversation, play safe by talking about your hobbies since it is a neutral topic.
Learning hobbie related vocabulary will help you increase your bank vocabulary to spice up any conversation and you´ll also increase cultural awareness. People from Spanish speaking cultures enjoy different activities than English native speakers and spend their free time in a different way.
Difference in Tiempo libre and Pasatiempo!
Before engaging in a conversation with a Spanish native speaker we need to know the difference among Tiempo libre and Pasatiempo. Both expressions are used to talk about activities we do when we are not at work or in the school/university. To start a conversation, you can simply ask
1) ¿Qué haces en tu tiempo libre? meaning What do you do in your free time? Or you can ask
2) ¿Cuál es tu pasatiempo favorito? meaning What’s your favourite hobby?
3) Another question you can ask is ¿Qué haces los fines de semana? which means What do you do on the weekends?
How to express liking of your favorite hobby
| There are many ways to answer those questions using verbs of liking and disliking. You can simply use Me interesa… to say you are interested in an activity. Or you can also use Mi pasatiempo favorito es… to say your favourite hobby. Another verb you can use to express liking is Me gusta… to say you like something. Or you can use Me encanta… to say you love that activity. If you hate a specific activity you can use I hate. So depending on the level of liking you can use Me interesa, Me gusta or Me encanta. |
| 1 | When to use verb “Jugar” When talking about sports you enjoy participating in, you simply use the verb jugar which means to play. You can say Me gusta jugar beisbol or Me gusta jugar fútbol to indicate you like playing baseball or football. In spanish, jugar fútbol means to play soccer. In the case of basketball, in Latin America people simply refer to this sport as básquest or básquetbol. When talking about team sports you need a ball, you simply use the verb jugar or play. |
| 2 | When to use verb “Hacer” When you want to talk about sports that doesn’t include a ball to play with, you use the verb hacer or do. You simply say Me gusta hacer natación if you like swimming. You can also say Me encanta hacer ciclismo which literally means I love cycling. In these cases you need two verbs: a liking verb and to do. Natación and Ciclismo are considered nouns so you need the verb hacer to indica you practice that activity. |
Rules of using Verbs in Spanish
| 1 | In the English language, you simply add -ing to a noun to turn it into a verb. This is not the case in the Spanish language. It requires a little bit of memorization of certain rules. When talking about outdoor activities such as acampar or camping, navegar or sailing, montar a caballo or riding a horse; in Spanish you don’t use any verb since these words are already verbs. You simply say Me encanta navegar or Odio montar a caballo. |
| 2 | In the case of excursionismo or hiking and salto de bungee or bungee jumping you need the verb hacer or to do since they are nouns. You simply say Me gusta hacer excursionismo to talk about this activity. If you like going fishing or sailing, you use the verb ir or to go. You simply say Me gusta ir de pesca or Me gusta ir a navegar. |
When talking about art and music related hobbies, it is quite similar to the English language. You simply use Me gusta la fotografía to say you like photography. Remember that in Spanish people use articles before a noun.
If you are interested in singing or playing an instrument, you simply say Me gusta cantar o tocar un instrumento. These examples are pretty easy since you use the verb in infinitive after the liking verb. For example, you use Me encanta pintar to say you love painting or Me gusta escribir novelas to say you like writing novels. In spanish, verbs ending in -ar, -er, -ir are infinitive verbs.
