At Your Leisure: Discuss Hobbies in Spanish with 50+ Terms
Everyone has a hobby, whether you enjoy normal, run-of-the-mill pastimes like playing sports and making music, or something a little more uncommon like carefully manipulating aluminum foil into shiny balls.
And chances are, there is someone out there who enjoys the same exact pass-time (and probably has a hefty Reynolds Wrap bill to prove it).
Talking about your hobbies 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!
There is just one caveat—to have awesome Spanish conversations about your favorite activities, you will need plenty of Spanish vocabulary.
In this post, you will find over 50 words and phrases that will help you start talking about your hobbies in Spanish!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
How Talking About Hobbies Can Help Improve Your Spanish
What do you talk about when you have exhausted every discussion about the weather? What is your go-to conversation topic after you have talked about your day? Knowing Spanish vocabulary about hobbies will help you engage in small talk and allow you to continue a conversation (and practice your Spanish for longer!).
Most hobbies are relatively neutral topics, so there is less risk of offending someone than if you were to dive into the controversial stuff, like politics and current events.
That being said, be careful about who you openly support when discussing sports. That can still cause some tension!
Learning Spanish vocabulary related to your hobbies will also help you connect with people with similar interests. Connecting with like-minded individuals is always a recipe for good times. And when those people share your interests and speak Spanish, the experience will be even more delightful (and educational).
Your hobby-related vocabulary will even help you understand material about your favorite pass-times. Learning key vocabulary can improve your understanding of authentic reading materials, videos or streaming programs about your hobbies.
For instance, if you love sewing, you might enjoy the YouTube channel Arte y Costura (Art and Sewing). Love sports? Dive into ESPN Deportes (ESPN Sports). You might even look for magazines about your favorite hobbies. For instance, entertainment fans will love “Rolling Stone México.”
Another great authentic resource for learning hobby vocabulary is 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 topics, 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.
Plus, 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 studying with the same video.
Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the iOS or Android FluentU app.
How to Talk About Hobbies in Spanish: 50+ Terms from Camping to Crochet
Key Words and Phrases
Me gusta…
I like…
Please note that this verb is a little tricky. Because of its unique construction, the main subject of the sentence is not the person doing the liking, but the thing that is being liked.
For instance, with me gustan los perros (I like dogs), you might notice that gustan is plural. That is because perros is the subject of the sentence. It can be easier to think of the sentence as meaning “dogs please me” (as silly as that might sound in English).
Me interesa…
I am interested in…
Like me gusta, the construction is a little different from the English equivalent: the subject is whatever interests you. Think of this phrases as translating to “…interests me.”
Once you have that rule down, you can pair this phrase with anything that strikes your fancy. For instance, you might say me interesa el cine (I am interested in cinema/Cinema interests me).
Pasatiempo
Pastime/hobby
Mi pasatiempo favorito es…
My favorite pastime is…
Tiempo libre
Free time
¿Qué haces en tu tiempo libre?
What do you do in your free time?
It is important to note that this statement is informal, so you can use it with friends and people you are familiar with. In a more formal setting, you might say ¿Qué hace usted en su tiempo libre?
Sports and Physical Activities
Deportes
Sports
Correr
To run
Nadar
To swim
Esquiar
To ski
If water skiing is more up your alley, you can also say esquiar en el agua (to ski on the water).
Kárate
Karate
Ciclismo
Cycling
Bailar
To dance
Ejercitar
To exercise
Patinar
To skate
This verb can be used in several contexts of skating. For instance, it can mean “to rollerblade,” “to skate” or to “ice skate.” If you want to use patinar to refer to ice skating, you might clarify by using patinar sobre hielo (to skate on ice).
Jugar
To play
You can pair this verb with any sport or game you enjoy participating in. For instance, me gusta jugar fútbol means “I like to play soccer.”
Fútbol
Soccer
Fútbol americano
American football
Baloncesto/Básquetbol
Basketball
Baloncesto and básquetbol both mean “basketball.” The main difference is that básquetbol is more common in Latin America.
Béisbol
Baseball
Hockey
This is a tricky one. In Spanish, hockey means “competitive crochet.” Just kidding. It totally means “hockey.”
However, the pronunciation can vary a bit, and there is no real consensus on what is correct. It may be pronounced the Anglicized way or made more Spanish, making it sound a lot like “Okay.” You might even hear people mixing and matching between the two pronunciations, making it sound something like “Hockay” or “Okee.”
Golf
Golf
Tenis
Tennis
The Great Outdoors
Acampar
To camp
Pescar
To fish
Cazar
To hunt
Jardinería
Gardening
Excursionismo
Hiking
Naturaleza
Nature/outdoors
Musical Hobbies
Música
Music
Cantar
To sing
Tocar…
To touch or to play
You can use tocar to say that you play an instrument. For instance, toco el clarinete means “I play the clarinet.”
While in English “to play” can be used with games, sports or instruments, in Spanish there is a clear distinction between two words that can mean “to play”: jugar and tocar.
Jugar is used to discuss playing games and sports. Tocar, which is usually translated as “to touch,” is used to mean “to play” an instrument.
Instrumento
Instrument
Guitarra
Guitar
If you are a little more rock and roll than that, you might also use guitarra eléctrica (electric guitar).
Piano
Piano
Escuchar
To listen
This one is perfect for anyone who loves listening to music! For instance, you might say me gusta escuchar música (I like to listen to music).
Making Art
Arte
Art
Sacar fotos
To take photos
Fotografía
Photography
Dibujar
To draw
Pintar
To paint
Pintar is usually used to refer to painting but it can also mean “to draw.”
Coser
To sew
Tejer
To knit, to weave or to crochet
Tejer can be used to refer to any of the above, so if you are into the fabric arts it is an invaluable vocabulary word.
Cocinar
To cook
Escribir
To write
Cine
Cinema
This can be used to discuss movies in general or movie theaters. For instance, me gusta el cine would likely be interpreted as “I like cinema.” Me gustaría ir al cine is more likely to mean “I would like to go to the movie theater.”
Televisión
Television (unsurprisingly)
Much like in English, this word can be used to refer to the television set itself or the medium in general.
Teatro
Theater
Other Hobbies and Pass-times
Leer
To read
Crucigramas
Crosswords
Ajedrez
Chess
Dominó
The game of dominoes (which is popular in Latin America)
Jugar cartas
To play cards
Coleccionar
To collect
If you are into collecting, you might pair this verb with a noun to indicate what you collect.
Some popular options might include estampillas/sellos (stamps—estampillas is more common in Latin America), tarjetas postales (postcards), muñecas (dolls), monedas (coins), antigüedades (antiques), tarjetas de béisbol (baseball cards) and figuras de acción (action figures).
Juegos
Games
Ir de compras
To go shopping
Jugar videojuegos
To play video games
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)
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Spanish with real-world videos.