Table of Contents
Talking about free time
At A1 level you want to describe what you do when you are not working or studying. In German, leisure activities are usually expressed with simple present tense verbs and short main clauses. This chapter focuses on the most common verbs and phrases that occur with hobbies and free time.
Common verbs for hobbies
Most leisure activities in German use a small group of very frequent verbs. You already know how present tense and word order work, so here we just focus on typical combinations for hobbies.
Important general verbs:
| German infinitive | Meaning in English | Typical pattern |
|---|---|---|
| machen | to do, to make | etwas machen |
| spielen | to play | Fußball spielen, Gitarre spielen |
| gehen | to go | ins Kino gehen, schwimmen gehen |
| fahren | to go, to drive, to ride | Fahrrad fahren, Ski fahren |
| lesen | to read | ein Buch lesen |
| sehen | to see, to watch | fernsehen, einen Film sehen |
| treffen | to meet | Freunde treffen |
Many hobbies use a noun with the verb machen. For example: Sport machen, Yoga machen, Fotos machen, Musik machen.
For hobbies, German often uses verb + noun combinations such as Fußball spielen, Musik machen, Fotos machen. The noun normally stays in the basic (dictionary) form.
Popular hobbies and fixed expressions
Many hobby expressions are fixed combinations that you can learn as blocks. Here are some of the most useful ones.
Sports and movement:
| German phrase | Meaning in English |
|---|---|
| Sport machen | to do sports |
| joggen gehen | to go jogging |
| schwimmen gehen | to go swimming |
| Yoga machen | to do yoga |
| tanzen | to dance |
| Fußball / Tennis spielen | to play football / tennis |
| Basketball / Volleyball spielen | to play basketball / volleyball |
| Fahrrad fahren | to ride a bike |
| Ski fahren | to go skiing |
| wandern gehen | to go hiking |
Relaxing and home activities:
| German phrase | Meaning in English |
|---|---|
| fernsehen | to watch TV |
| Serien schauen / sehen | to watch series |
| Musik hören | to listen to music |
| ein Buch lesen | to read a book |
| im Internet surfen | to surf on the internet |
| Computerspiele spielen | to play computer games |
| Videospiele spielen | to play video games |
| kochen | to cook |
| backen | to bake |
| schlafen | to sleep |
| nichts tun | to do nothing |
Creative activities:
| German phrase | Meaning in English |
|---|---|
| malen | to paint |
| zeichnen | to draw |
| fotografieren | to take photos |
| Fotos machen | to take photos |
| Musik machen | to make music |
| Gitarre / Klavier spielen | to play guitar / piano |
| singen | to sing |
| tanzen | to dance |
Social and cultural activities:
| German phrase | Meaning in English |
|---|---|
| Freunde treffen | to meet friends |
| ins Kino gehen | to go to the cinema |
| ins Theater gehen | to go to the theatre |
| ins Konzert gehen | to go to a concert |
| in die Stadt gehen | to go to town |
| spazieren gehen | to go for a walk |
| ausgehen | to go out |
| essen gehen | to go out to eat |
Travel and outdoors:
| German phrase | Meaning in English |
|---|---|
| reisen | to travel |
| eine Reise machen | to go on a trip |
| campen | to camp |
| zelten | to camp in a tent |
| am Strand liegen | to lie on the beach |
| im Park sitzen | to sit in the park |
Saying what you like doing
To talk about hobbies, you often combine a normal verb with the adverb gern. Gern means that you like doing the action.
Examples:
Ich lese gern.
Ich spiele gern Fußball.
Wir gehen gern ins Kino.
To express that you like an activity, use gern after the conjugated verb:
Ich spiele gern Tennis.
Do not say Ich mag spielen Tennis.
You can also use sehr gern for “very much” and nicht gern for “do not like”.
Ich koche sehr gern.
Er schwimmt nicht gern.
Talking about frequency
When you speak about hobbies, you often say how often you do them. Here are the most common adverbs and phrases that appear with leisure activities.
Simple adverbs:
| German | Meaning in English |
|---|---|
| immer | always |
| oft | often |
| manchmal | sometimes |
| selten | rarely, seldom |
| nie | never |
Time phrases:
| German | Meaning in English |
|---|---|
| jeden Tag | every day |
| jedes Wochenende | every weekend |
| einmal pro Woche | once a week |
| zweimal pro Woche | twice a week |
| dreimal im Monat | three times a month |
| am Wochenende | at the weekend |
| in der Freizeit | in (my) free time |
| abends | in the evenings |
| morgens | in the mornings |
You can combine these with hobby verbs:
Ich jogge jeden Morgen.
Wir treffen oft Freunde.
Sie geht selten ins Theater.
In meiner Freizeit lese ich gern.
Asking about hobbies and free time
To talk with others, you need simple questions about hobbies. At this level, you mainly use yes/no questions and short information questions with was and was machst du.
Typical questions:
Was machst du in deiner Freizeit?
Was sind deine Hobbys?
Hast du Hobbys?
Spielst du ein Instrument?
Spielst du gern Fußball?
Gehst du oft ins Kino?
You can also ask with wie oft for frequency:
Wie oft spielst du Tennis?
Wie oft triffst du Freunde?
In yes/no questions, the verb comes first:
Spielst du Gitarre?
In information questions, the question word comes first, then the verb:
Was machst du am Wochenende?
Answering with short sentences
At A1 level, short, clear answers are enough. You can answer questions about hobbies with simple present tense sentences, often using gern and frequency words.
Question and answer pairs:
Was machst du in deiner Freizeit?
Ich lese und ich spiele Computerspiele.
Was sind deine Hobbys?
Meine Hobbys sind Fußball und Musik.
Spielst du gern Fußball?
Ja, ich spiele sehr gern Fußball. / Nein, ich spiele nicht gern Fußball.
Gehst du oft ins Kino?
Ich gehe manchmal ins Kino.
Ich gehe nie ins Kino.
Spielst du ein Instrument?
Ja, ich spiele Klavier. / Nein, ich spiele kein Instrument.
Wie oft machst du Sport?
Ich mache dreimal pro Woche Sport.
Describing a simple leisure routine
You can combine time expressions, frequency words, and hobby verbs to describe a simple routine for evenings or weekends.
Examples:
Am Wochenende treffe ich Freunde und wir gehen ins Kino.
Ich gehe jeden Samstag schwimmen.
Abends sehe ich fern oder ich lese ein Buch.
In meiner Freizeit mache ich Sport und ich höre Musik.
Try to keep sentences short and focus on clear verb forms and correct word order that you already know.
New vocabulary for this chapter
| German | Part of speech | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| die Freizeit | noun | free time |
| das Hobby (Pl. Hobbys) | noun | hobby |
| machen | verb | to do, to make |
| spielen | verb | to play |
| gehen | verb | to go |
| fahren | verb | to go, to drive, to ride |
| lesen | verb | to read |
| sehen | verb | to see, to watch |
| fernsehen | verb | to watch TV |
| schauen | verb | to watch |
| Musik hören | phrase | to listen to music |
| Sport machen | phrase | to do sports |
| joggen gehen | phrase | to go jogging |
| schwimmen gehen | phrase | to go swimming |
| Yoga machen | phrase | to do yoga |
| tanzen | verb | to dance |
| Fußball spielen | phrase | to play football |
| Tennis spielen | phrase | to play tennis |
| Basketball spielen | phrase | to play basketball |
| Volleyball spielen | phrase | to play volleyball |
| Fahrrad fahren | phrase | to ride a bike |
| Ski fahren | phrase | to go skiing |
| wandern gehen | phrase | to go hiking |
| ein Buch lesen | phrase | to read a book |
| im Internet surfen | phrase | to surf the internet |
| Computerspiele spielen | phrase | to play computer games |
| Videospiele spielen | phrase | to play video games |
| kochen | verb | to cook |
| backen | verb | to bake |
| schlafen | verb | to sleep |
| malen | verb | to paint |
| zeichnen | verb | to draw |
| fotografieren | verb | to take photos |
| Fotos machen | phrase | to take photos |
| Musik machen | phrase | to make music |
| Gitarre spielen | phrase | to play guitar |
| Klavier spielen | phrase | to play piano |
| singen | verb | to sing |
| Freunde treffen | phrase | to meet friends |
| ins Kino gehen | phrase | to go to the cinema |
| ins Theater gehen | phrase | to go to the theatre |
| ins Konzert gehen | phrase | to go to a concert |
| in die Stadt gehen | phrase | to go to town |
| spazieren gehen | phrase | to go for a walk |
| ausgehen | verb | to go out |
| essen gehen | phrase | to go out to eat |
| reisen | verb | to travel |
| eine Reise machen | phrase | to go on a trip |
| campen | verb | to camp |
| zelten | verb | to camp (in a tent) |
| am Strand liegen | phrase | to lie on the beach |
| im Park sitzen | phrase | to sit in the park |
| gern | adverb | with pleasure, like to |
| sehr gern | adverb | very much (like very much) |
| nicht gern | adverb | not with pleasure, not like to |
| immer | adverb | always |
| oft | adverb | often |
| manchmal | adverb | sometimes |
| selten | adverb | rarely |
| nie | adverb | never |
| jeden Tag | phrase | every day |
| jedes Wochenende | phrase | every weekend |
| einmal pro Woche | phrase | once a week |
| zweimal pro Woche | phrase | twice a week |
| dreimal im Monat | phrase | three times a month |
| am Wochenende | phrase | at the weekend |
| abends | adverb | in the evenings |
| morgens | adverb | in the mornings |
| Was machst du in deiner Freizeit? | sentence | What do you do in your free time? |
| Was sind deine Hobbys? | sentence | What are your hobbies? |
| Hast du Hobbys? | sentence | Do you have hobbies? |
| Spielst du ein Instrument? | sentence | Do you play an instrument? |
| Wie oft ...? | phrase | How often ...? |