Hobbies, Sports, and Free-Time Activities in Spanish

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Hobbies, sports, and free-time activities in Spanish

In this lesson, you will learn useful Spanish vocabulary for hobbies, sports, and activities people do in their free time. You will combine this vocabulary with the me gusta and me gustan patterns from the previous lesson.

The goal is to recognize common interests and say which activities you like or do not like.

Talking about free time

A useful expression is — free time.

  • — free time
  • — in my free time

You can use — in my free time to introduce activities you enjoy.

— In my free time, I like reading.

Common hobbies

These infinitives are useful for talking about hobbies and leisure activities.

  • — to read
  • — to listen to music
  • — to dance
  • — to sing
  • — to cook
  • — to walk
  • — to draw
  • — to travel

Because these are infinitives, you can use me gusta before them.

Using me gusta with hobbies

  • — I like reading.
  • — I like listening to music.
  • — I like dancing.
  • — I like cooking.
  • — I like walking.
  • — I like traveling.

The activity is expressed with an infinitive, so the pattern uses gusta.

Talking about activities you do not like

Use no me gusta + infinitive for an activity you do not like.

  • — I do not like singing.
  • — I do not like cooking.
  • — I do not like walking.
  • — I do not like drawing.

The structure remains no me gusta because the activity is an infinitive.

Common sports

These nouns name common sports.

  • — soccer / football
  • — tennis
  • — basketball
  • — cycling
  • — swimming

You can recognize these words as names of activities even before learning all the verbs commonly used with them.

Using me gusta with a sport as a singular noun

Most sport names in this list are singular nouns, so use me gusta.

  • — I like soccer / football.
  • — I like tennis.
  • — I like basketball.
  • — I like cycling.
  • — I like swimming.

The article stays with the sport name in these general preference statements.

Talking about playing sports with infinitives

Two useful activity phrases are — to play soccer / football and — to play tennis.

  • — to play soccer / football
  • — to play tennis

For now, use jugar only as an infinitive inside a preference phrase. Its present-tense vowel change will be taught later.

  • — I like playing soccer / football.
  • — I like playing tennis.

Talking about exercise

A useful general phrase is — to exercise.

  • — to exercise
  • — I like exercising.
  • — I do not like exercising.

For now, learn as an infinitive phrase. You will study more present-tense forms of hacer later.

Other common free-time activities

These activities are also useful when talking about interests.

  • — to watch television
  • — to talk with friends
  • — to eat in restaurants
  • — to study Spanish

You can place me gusta before each activity phrase.

  • — I like watching television.
  • — I like talking with friends.
  • — I like eating in restaurants.
  • — I like studying Spanish.

Asking whether someone likes an activity

Use ¿Te gusta
? — Do you like
? before an infinitive or a singular sport name.

  • — Do you like reading?
  • — Do you like dancing?
  • — Do you like soccer / football?
  • — Do you like swimming?

You can answer with a short preference statement.

Person A: — Do you like reading?

Person B: — Yes, I like reading.

Person A: — Do you like soccer / football?

Person B: — No, I do not like soccer / football.

Asking about free-time interests

— What do you like to do in your free time?

For now, learn the question as a practical expression.

Person A: — What do you like to do in your free time?

Person B: — I like reading and listening to music.

The connector y — and lets you name more than one activity.

Giving a short list of interests

You can combine several activities in one answer.

  • — I like dancing and singing.
  • — I like reading and listening to music.
  • — I like walking and exercising.
  • — I like playing soccer / football and playing tennis.

You do not need to repeat me gusta before every infinitive when the activities form one simple list.

Combining likes and dislikes

You can also contrast an activity you like with one you do not like.

  • — I like reading, but I do not like dancing.
  • — I like soccer / football, but I do not like tennis.
  • — I like cooking, but I do not like singing.

The connector pero — but marks the contrast.

Using me gustan with plural interest nouns

If the noun itself is plural, use me gustan.

  • — I like books.
  • — I like sports.

Compare:

  • — I like sport / sports as an activity in general.
  • — I like sports.

The singular or plural noun determines whether you use gusta or gustan.

A short interests profile

Read this short description:

— In my free time, I like reading and listening to music. I like soccer / football and I like walking. I do not like singing.

This profile uses only familiar preference patterns and the new free-time vocabulary.

A short conversation about interests

Person A: — What do you like to do in your free time?

Person B: — I like cooking and listening to music.

Person A: — Do you like tennis?

Person B: — Yes, I like tennis.

This exchange is enough to identify more than one interest without adding new grammar.

Organizing the vocabulary by type

Type Spanish examples
creative activities — to dance; — to sing; — to draw
quiet activities — to read; — to listen to music
physical activities — to walk; — to exercise; — to play soccer / football
sports — soccer / football; — tennis; — basketball

Grouping vocabulary by activity type can make it easier to remember and retrieve in conversation.

From hobbies and sports to shared likes

You can now name common hobbies, sports, and free-time activities and say which ones you like or do not like. The next lesson teaches también and tampoco so you can respond when another person shares a like or dislike with you.

Practice this lesson with quizzes

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