58 Words and Phrases to Discuss Hobbies in Spanish
Pasatiempo is “hobby” in Spanish, and talking about your pasatiempos means talking about something you love.
Combine your passion for your hobby with your passion for Spanish learning and you will have double the motivation to learn.
In this post, you will find everything you need to start talking about your hobbies in Spanish.
Contents
- Key Vocabulary for Hobbies in Spanish
- How to Talk About Hobbies in Spanish
- Why You Should Know How to Talk About Hobbies in Spanish
- And One More Thing…
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
Key Vocabulary for Hobbies in Spanish
General Hobbies
Spanish English Example
El cine
Cinema, film 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.)
Sports and Physical Activities
| 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.) |
| Ejercitarse / 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:
Sports in Spanish: 86 Essential Vocabulary Words for Fans and Athletes [With Audio] | FluentU Spanish Blog
Master this sports in Spanish vocabulary, and you’ll feel like shouting “goooool”! We’ve included 86, from the most well known sports like “futbol” (football), natación…
Outdoor Hobbies
| 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
| 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 mientras hago ejercicio. (I like to listen to music while I work out.) |
Art-related Hobbies
| 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.) |
How to Talk About Hobbies in Spanish
General questions and answers
If you want to ask someone what their hobby is, you can ask one of these questions.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ¿Tienes algún pasatiempo? | Do you have any hobbies? |
| ¿Qué haces en tu tiempo libre? | What do you do in your free time? |
| ¿Qué haces para divertirte? | What do you do for fun? |
| Mi pasatiempo favorito es pintar. | My favorite hobby is to paint. |
| Estoy interesado en la astronomía. | I'm interested (masculine) in astronomy. |
| Estoy interesada en la astronomía. | I'm interested (feminine) in astronomy. |
Gustar (Like)
If you want to talk about what you like, you can use this grammar form. This can be a tricky grammar formulation as it uses Spanish indirect pronouns, but all it takes is practice!
| Spanish | Pronoun |
|---|---|
| Me gusta | I |
| Te gusta | You (informal singular) |
| Le gusta
| He She You (formal singular) |
| Nos gusta | We |
| Os gusta | You (informal plural) |
| Les gusta | They You (formal plural) |
Verbs like gustar agree in number with the noun they’re referring to, not with the subject doing the liking. For example, Me gusta is used when the thing you like is singular, while me gustan is used when it’s plural.
You can use this structure with other verbs and use them with indirect pronouns, such as interesar (to interest), encantar (to love), or fascinar (to fascinate).
Me gusta(n) — I like
Me gusta bailar. — I like to dance.
Me gustan los libros. — I like books.
Te gusta(n) — You (informal singular) like
¿Te gusta cocinar? — Do you like to cook?
Te gustan las películas de terror. — You like horror movies.
Le gusta(n) — He/she likes, you (formal singular) like
This one can mean “he likes,” “she likes,” or “you (formal) like.” This is contextual so it has to be clear who you are referring to.
Le gusta leer. — He likes to read.
Le gustan los animales. — She likes animals.
Nos gusta(n) — We like
Nos gusta viajar. — We like to travel.
Nos gustan las películas de comedia. — We like comedy movies.
Os gusta(n) — You (informal plural) like
This is a bit less common and is only used in Spain. It’s the plural form of te gusta but addressing a group informally.
¿Os gusta el fútbol? — Do you all like soccer?
Os gustan los conciertos en vivo. — You all like live concerts.
Les gusta(n) — They/you (formal plural) like
Les gusta jugar al ajedrez. — They like to play chess.
Les gustan las frutas. — You like fruits.
If you want to use someone’s name or specify the pronoun, you can add “a” + name/pronoun first.
A mí me gusta cocinar. — I like to cook.
A Juan le gusta nadar. — Juan likes to swim.
A nosotros nos gusta bailar y a vosotros os gusta cantar. — We like to dance, and you like to sing.
Disfrutar/Amar (Enjoy/Love)
If you want to use simpler verb conjugations, try out the verbs disfrutar (to enjoy) or amar (to love)—which is even stronger than encantar—. These verbs follow the regular rules of Spanish verb conjugation.
| Conjugation | Pronoun |
|---|---|
| Yo amo | I |
| Tú amas | You (informal singular) |
| Él ama
Ella ama Usted ama | He She You (formal singular) |
| Nosotros amamos | We |
| Vosotros amáis | You all (informal plural) |
| Ellos aman
Ustedes aman | They You all (formal plural) |
After amo, you can then put either a noun or a verb in its infinitive form, such as pintar or jugar in the following examples.
Yo amo pintar paisajes en mis ratos libres. — I love painting landscapes in my free time.
Él ama leer novelas de misterio. — He loves reading mystery.
Vosotros amáis jugar al fútbol en el parque con amigos. — You all love playing soccer in the park with friends.
| Conjugation | Pronoun |
|---|---|
| Yo disfruto | I |
| Tú disfrutas | You (informal singular) |
| Él disfruta
Ella disfruta Usted disfruta | He She You (formal singular) |
| Nosotros disfrutamos | We |
| Vosotros disfrutáis | You all (informal plural) |
| Ellos disfrutan
Ustedes disfrutan | They You all (formal plural) |
After disfrutar, it’s standard to add de before the thing you enjoy doing, although this is often omitted in everyday speech:
Tú disfrutas de ir a pescar. or Tú disfrutas ir a pescar. — I enjoy going fishing.
Why You Should Know How to Talk About Hobbies in Spanish
- Knowing Spanish vocabulary about hobbies will help you engage in small talk and allow you to continue a conversation to build connections.
- 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 connect with people with similar interests.
- Your hobby-related vocabulary will even help you understand material about your favorite pastimes.
- Learning key vocabulary 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.
FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app or Android app.
P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month)
Go ahead and share your interests! With these Spanish hobby-related vocabulary words, you will 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.)
