Talking about your pasatiempos
(hobbies) is a great way to connect with Spanish speakers.
It also allows you to practice the language you’ve learned so far in a casual environment.
In this post, I’ll give you everything you need to start talking about your hobbies in Spanish.
With 64 words and phrases, you’ll be well-equipped to talk about whatever it is you enjoy doing in your free time!
Contents
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How to Talk About Hobbies in Spanish
We can use a fairly basic grammar structure to talk about what we like to do:
Me gusta
(I like) + [infinitive verb]
When we use the infinitive verb in Spanish, we can translate it either as “to + [verb]” or as the noun ending in “-ing.” For example:
Me gusta leer.
(I like to read/reading.)
Another way to talk about our hobbies is with the phrase “Me interesa…”
(I’m interested in…) followed by a noun. For example:
Me interesa el cine.
(I’m interested in cinema.)
We can also use the phrase “Mi pasatiempo favorito es…”
(My favorite hobby is…). For example:
Mi pasatiempo favorito es pintar.
(My favorite hobby is to paint/painting.)
Asking Questions About Hobbies in Spanish
If you want to ask someone else about their hobbies in general, you can use one of these questions:
¿Tienes algún pasatiempo?
(Do you have any hobbies?)
¿Qué haces en tu tiempo libre?
(What do you do in your free time?)
¿Qué te gusta hacer?
(What do you like to do?)
If you want to ask them about a specific hobby, you can use one of these formats:
¿Te gusta + [infinitive verb]?
¿Te gusta(n) + [noun]?
For example:
¿Te gusta jugar los videojuegos?
(Do you like to play video games?)
¿Te gustan los videojuegos?
(Do you like video games?)
If you’re not sure when we use gusta or gustan, check out this post on using the verb gustar in Spanish.
Note that these questions are all in the informal tú (you) form, meant for casual situations with people around your age or younger than you.
Key Vocabulary for Hobbies in Spanish
Sports and Physical Activity
Sports are a very common hobby and come up all the time in small talk and informal conversations with friends, coworkers…even strangers!
Here are some key terms that you can use to talk about sports and the physical activities you enjoy:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Los deportes |
Sports | ¿Juegas deportes? (Do you play sports?) |
| Correr |
To run | Podemos correr por la mañana. (We can run in the morning.) |
| Nadar |
To swim | Quiero nadar en el océano. (I want to swim in the ocean.) |
| Esquiar |
To ski | Esquiaremos todo el invierno. (We will ski all winter.) |
| El karate |
Karate | Él tiene clase de karate los lunes. (He has karate class on Mondays.) |
| El ciclismo |
Cycling | Mi pasatiempo favorito es el ciclismo. (My favorite hobby is cycling.) |
| Bailar |
To dance | Tú bailas competitivamente. (You dance competitively.) |
| Ejercitar / hacer ejercicio |
To exercise / to do exercise | Ejercitan en el gimnasio todos los días. (They exercise in the gym every day.) |
| Patinar |
To skate | Me pidió que fuera a patinar sobre hielo. (He asked me to go ice skating.) |
| Jugar |
To play | Jugué hockey en la universidad. (I played hockey in college.) |
| El fútbol |
Soccer | Los niños están aquí para un torneo de fútbol. (The kids are here for a soccer tournament.) |
| El fútbol americano |
American football | Quiere jugar al fútbol americano en Estados Unidos. (He wants to play American football in the United States.) |
| El baloncesto / el básquetbol |
Basketball | Mi hermano juega básquetbol. (My brother plays basketball.) |
| El béisbol |
Baseball | Vamos a jugar béisbol el viernes. (We’re going to play baseball on Friday.) |
| El hockey |
Hockey | A mi padre le encanta ver hockey. (My dad loves to watch hockey.) |
| El golf |
Golf | Mis colegas juegan al golf todos los domingos. (My coworkers play golf every Sunday.) |
| El tenis |
Tennis | Juego al tenis con mi padre después de la cena. (I play tennis with my dad after dinner.) |
Visit this post for more sports vocabulary in Spanish:
Hobbies in the Great Outdoors
If you’re visiting pretty much anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world, chances are you’ll find some natural beauty and activities you can enjoy in the great outdoors.
Here are some terms you can use to talk about what you like to (or hope to) do while you’re there:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Acampar |
To camp | Vamos a acampar este fin de semana. (We’re going camping this weekend.) |
| La jardinería |
Gardening | La jardinería es el pasatiempo favorito de mi abuela. (Gardening is my grandma’s favorite hobby.) |
| El excursionismo / el senderismo |
Hiking | Mi papá y yo vamos de excursión todas las semanas. (My dad and I go hiking every week.) |
| La naturaleza |
Nature | Me encanta pasar tiempo en la naturaleza. (I love spending time in nature.) |
| La observación de aves |
Birdwatching | Hicieron un viaje de observación de aves por su aniversario. (They went on a birdwatching trip for their anniversary.) |
| Pescar |
To fish | Ellos van a pescar mañana. (They’re going fishing tomorrow.) |
| Cazar |
To hunt | ¿Te gusta cazar? (Do you like to hunt?) |
Musical Hobbies
Music is another one of those topics that allows us to connect and bond over our shared favorites…or debate them!
If you want to talk about music with Spanish speakers, you’ll need some of this vocabulary:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| La música |
Music | ¿Cuál es tu tipo de música favorito? (What’s your favorite type of music?) |
| Cantar |
To sing | Ella canta en un coro. (She sings in a choir.) |
| Tocar |
To play | Tocaba la guitarra cuando era joven. (I played the guitar when I was young.) |
| El instrumento |
Instrument | ¿Tocas algún instrumento? (Do you play any instruments?) |
| La guitarra |
Guitar | El hombre que toca la guitarra es famoso. (The man who’s playing the guitar is famous.) |
| El piano |
Piano | Mi amiga está tomando clases de piano. (My friend is taking piano classes.) |
| Escuchar |
To listen | Me gusta escuchar música mientres hago ejercicio. (I like to listen to music while I work out.) |
Making Art
For those of us who need a creative outlet, art-related hobbies are a must. It’s a beautiful thing when we can share our artistic interests or talents with others.
Here are some words and phrases you can use to talk about art and crafting with Spanish speakers:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| El arte |
Art | Quiero ir a un museo de arte. (I want to go to an art museum.) |
| Sacar fotos / tomar fotos |
To take photos | Mi madre saca muchas fotos cuando viajamos. (My mom takes lots of pictures when we travel.) |
| La fotografía |
Photography | Deberías probar la fotografía. (You should try photography.) |
| Dibujar |
To draw | Estamos dibujando nuestras manos. (We’re drawing our hands.) |
| Pintar |
To paint | Estoy pintando algo para mi papá. (I’m painting something for my dad.) |
| Coser |
To sew | Las abuelas cosen ropa para sus nietos. (The grandmas sew clothes for their grandkids.) |
| Tejer |
To knit/weave/crochet | Puedes tejer muy rápidamente. (You can weave very quickly.) |
| El teatro |
Theater | Mi abuela y yo vamos al teatro a menudo. (My grandma and I go to the theater often.) |
Games and Puzzles
Who doesn’t love playing games? They’re a great way to connect and have fun with others, and can even be enjoyed across language barriers.
Here are some common, universally loved games and a few phrases to talk about them:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Los rompecabezas |
Puzzles | Soy muy bueno con los rompecabezas. (I’m really good at puzzles.) |
| Los crucigramas |
Crossword puzzles | A mi abuelo le encantan los crucigramas. (My grandpa loves crossword puzzles.) |
| El ajedrez |
Chess | Siempre gano cuando jugamos al ajedrez. (I always win when we play chess.) |
| El dominó |
Dominoes | Mis hermanos no juegan dominó conmigo y mis padres. (My brothers don’t play dominoes with me and my parents.) |
| Jugar cartas |
To play cards | Me encanta jugar cartas. (I love to play cards.) |
| Los juegos |
Games | Los niños juegan juegos en el parque. (The kids play games at the park.) |
| Los juegos de mesa |
Board games | Siempre jugamos juegos de mesa durante las vacaciones. (We always play board games during the holidays.) |
| Jugar videojuegos |
To play video games | Mis hermanos juegan videojuegos todo el día. (My brothers play video games all day.) |
Other Hobbies
There are countless hobbies that people enjoy, and we couldn’t possibly cover them all here. But here are a few more popular ones:
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| El cine |
Cinema | Me gusta el cine. (I like film.) |
| La televisión |
Television | Ves la televisión todo el día. (You watch television all day.) |
| Cocinar |
To cook | Mi madre cocina muy bien. (My mom cooks really well.) |
| Hornear |
To bake | Me encanta hornear en invierno. (I love baking in the winter.) |
| Escribir |
To write | Solíamos escribirnos cartas. (We used to write letters to each other.) |
| Leer |
To read | Hacen un picnic y leen. (They have a picnic and read.) |
| Coleccionar |
To collect | Colecciona las tarjetas de béisbol. (He collects baseball cards.) |
| Ir de compras |
To go shopping | Vamos de compras con mi abuela. (We’re going shopping with my grandma.) |
| Viajar |
To travel | Me encanta viajar sola. (I love to traveling alone.) |
Quiz on Hobbies in Spanish
Now that you’ve learned some key vocabulary about hobbies in Spanish, it’s time to test your knowledge!
Take the quiz below (without looking at the answers above!) and just refresh the page if you want to start over or retake it.
What hobby involves making cookies, cakes and other desserts?
How do you say “to play an instrument” in Spanish?
If you rip a hole in an item of clothing, what hobby would it help to have?
Which hobby is always done outdoors?
If you love buying new clothes, what would you say is your hobby?
What’s an activity you can do inside on a rainy day?
If you love to visit new places, what’s your hobby in Spanish?
Which hobby in Spanish involves doing exercise?
If you enjoy taking photos, what’s your hobby in Spanish?
If you love football, basketball and tennis, what could you say is your hobby in Spanish?
Keep practicing!
Review this article a few more times and then refresh the page to retake the quiz and see if you can improve your score. You can do it!
You’re getting there!
Review this post again and then refresh the page to retake the quiz and see if you can improve your score. You can do it!
Nice job!
You’re well on your way to mastering hobbies in Spanish! Review the questions you got wrong and then refresh the page to retake the quiz and see if you can get a perfect score.
Congratulations!
You’ve mastered hobbies in Spanish! Now it’s time to take what you’ve learned and use it in your everyday conversations and writing in Spanish.
Why Learn How to Talk About Hobbies in Spanish
Knowing Spanish vocabulary about hobbies will help you engage in small talk and connect with people with similar interests.
Most hobbies are relatively neutral topics, making them great conversation points for when you’re talking to someone new.
Learning Spanish vocabulary related to your hobbies will also help you understand material about your favorite pastimes.
You can improve your understanding of authentic reading materials, videos or streaming programs about your hobbies.
To find some great video material about your hobbies, you can look at FluentU.
Go ahead and share your interests! With these hobby-related vocabulary words and phrases in Spanish, you’ll never be at a loss for something fun to talk about.
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing…
If you’ve made it this far that means you probably enjoy learning Spanish with engaging material and will then love FluentU.
Other sites use scripted content. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the Spanish language and culture over time. You’ll learn Spanish as it’s actually spoken by real people.
FluentU has a wide variety of videos, as you can see here:
FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive transcripts. You can tap on any word to look it up instantly. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. If you see an interesting word you don’t know, you can add it to a vocab list.
Review a complete interactive transcript under the Dialogue tab, and find words and phrases listed under Vocab.
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentU’s robust learning engine. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.
The best part is that FluentU keeps track of the vocabulary that you’re learning, and gives you extra practice with difficult words. It’ll even remind you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. Every learner has a truly personalized experience, even if they’re learning with the same video.
Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
