Talking About Your Hobbies in Japanese

One of the most common (and fun!) topics to talk about when meeting someone new is your hobbies! Whether you’re chatting with a language partner, introducing yourself in class, or making new Japanese friends, being able to talk about your interests is super useful.

Let’s dive into how to talk about your hobbies in Japanese — with key phrases, vocabulary, and example sentences!

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🎯 First, how do you say “hobby” in Japanese?

The word for hobby is:
→ 趣味しゅみ（shumi）

To say “My hobby is…”, you can say:
→ 私わたしの趣味しゅみは〜です。(Watashi no shumi wa ~ desu)

💡 Casual version:
趣味しゅみは〜だよ！（Shumi wa ~ dayo）

🗣️ Useful Verbs to Talk About Hobbies

In Japanese, when you want to say you like something, you use:
〜が好すきです (~ ga suki desu)

This works for both nouns and verbs — but the grammar is a little different. Let’s look at both!

✅ For Nouns

Just add が好すきです after the noun.

Examples:

• 音楽おんがくが好すきです。
  (Ongaku ga suki desu.) — I like music.
• 映画えいがが好すきです。
  (Eiga ga suki desu.) — I like movies.
• スポーツが好すきです。
  (Supootsu ga suki desu.) — I like sports.

✅ For Verbs – Add の after the verb!

When you want to say you like doing something, add の after the plain form of the verb to turn it into a noun-like word.
Think of の like adding “-ing” in English.

Structure:
[verb (dictionary form)] + のが好すきです

Examples:

• 料理りょうりするのが好すきです。
  (Ryoori suru no ga suki desu.) — I like cooking.
• 絵えを描かくのが好きです。
  (E o kaku no ga suki desu.) — I like drawing.
• 走はしるのが好すきです。
  (Hashiru no ga suki desu.) — I like running.
• 日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうするのが好すきです。
  (Nihongo o benkyoo suru no ga suki desu.) — I like studying Japanese.

📝 Mini Tip

• 音楽おんがくが好すきです。= I like music. (noun)
• 音楽おんがくを聞きくのが好すきです。= I like listening to music. (verb + の)

の is super useful — it lets you talk about any activity you enjoy!

🧩 Common Hobby Vocabulary

Japanese	Meaning
読書どくしょ / 読書どくしょをする	Reading books (as a noun) / Reading books (as a verb)
映画えいが / 映画えいがを見みる	Movies / Watching movies
音楽おんがく / 音楽おんがくを聞きく	Music / Listening to music
ゲーム / ゲームをする	Games / Playing games
スポーツ / スポーツをする	Sports / Playing sports
絵え / 絵えを描かく	Drawing (as a noun) / Drawing (as a verb)
旅行りょこう　/ 旅行りょこうをする	Travelling (as a noun) / Travelling (as a verb)
料理りょうり / 料理りょうりする	Cooking (as a noun) / Cooking (as a verb)
写真しゃしん / 写真しゃしんを撮とる	Photography / Taking pictures
ダンス / ダンスをする	Dance / Dancing

🧪 Example Sentences

🗨️ 趣味しゅみは料理りょうりです。
(Shumi wa ryouri desu.) — My hobby is cooking.

🗨️ 音楽おんがくを聞きくのが好すきです。
(Ongaku o kiku no ga suki desu.) — I like listening to music.

📝 Practice Time!

What’s your hobby? Try writing a short self-introduction including your hobby in the comments or with your language partner.

Need help writing yours? Drop a comment and we will help you out!