Hobbies in German: Was machst du gern? Freizeit Vocabulary

To ask about hobbies in German, say Was machst du in deiner Freizeit? — What do you do in your free time? To answer, use the verb plus gern: Ich lese gern. — I like reading. Ich spiele gern Fußball. — I like playing soccer.

Below: the key questions, gern, lieber and am liebsten, hobby vocabulary by category, spielen vs. machen vs. gehen, frequency words, German clubs and common mistakes.

How to Ask About Hobbies in German

Hobbies come up in almost every first conversation, so they're a standard part of introducing yourself in German. Use du with friends, Sie in formal situations:

Informal (du)	Formal (Sie)	English
Was machst du in deiner Freizeit?	Was machen Sie in Ihrer Freizeit?	What do you do in your free time?
Was sind deine Hobbys?	Was sind Ihre Hobbys?	What are your hobbies?
Hast du Hobbys?	Haben Sie Hobbys?	Do you have any hobbies?
Was machst du gern?	Was machen Sie gern?	What do you like to do?
Was machst du am Wochenende?	Was machen Sie am Wochenende?	What do you do on weekends? / What are you doing this weekend?
Wofür interessierst du dich?	Wofür interessieren Sie sich?	What are you interested in?

Germans often add so to sound casual: Was machst du so in deiner Freizeit? — So what do you get up to in your free time? And note the spelling: one Hobby, two Hobbys (not "Hobbies").

After you answer, return the question with Und du? — And you? To suggest doing something together, ask Hast du Lust, am Sonntag wandern zu gehen? — Do you feel like going hiking on Sunday?

How to Answer: Gern, Lieber, Am Liebsten

English says "I like reading". German takes the activity verb and adds gern (gladly): Ich lese gern is literally "I read gladly". The verb stays in second place, and gern usually comes right after it:

Ich koche gern. — I like cooking.
Ich spiele gern Tennis. — I like playing tennis.
Ich gehe gern ins Kino. — I like going to the movies.
Ich tanze nicht gern. — I don't like dancing.

For "don't like", put nicht before gern. No hobbies at all? Say Ich habe keine Hobbys. Our guide to nicht vs. kein explains why it's keine here. Gern and gerne are both correct.

To compare, step up to lieber (prefer) and am liebsten (like most of all):

German	Meaning	Example
gern	like doing	Ich schwimme gern. — I like swimming.
lieber	prefer doing	Ich schwimme gern, aber ich jogge lieber. — I like swimming, but I prefer jogging.
am liebsten	like doing most of all	Am liebsten fahre ich Rad. — Most of all, I like cycling.

When am liebsten opens the sentence, the verb still comes second, so the subject moves after it: Am liebsten fahre ich Rad, never Am liebsten ich fahre Rad. That's the verb-second rule from our guide to German word order.

Gern, Mögen or Gefallen?

Gern is for activities. For things and people, use mögen: Ich mag Hip-Hop. — I like hip-hop. For something you see or try, use gefallen: Der Film gefällt mir. — I like the movie. Mixing these up is one of the most common beginner mistakes, so read our full guide on how to say "I like" in German.

Mein Hobby ist… / Meine Hobbys sind…

You can also name your hobbies as nouns, or use these patterns:

Mein Hobby ist Fotografieren. — My hobby is photography.
Meine Hobbys sind Lesen, Wandern und Kochen. — My hobbies are reading, hiking and cooking.
Kochen macht mir Spaß. — I enjoy cooking.
Ich interessiere mich für Kunst. — I'm interested in art.

Any German verb can become a noun: capitalize it, and it's neuter (das Lesen, das Wandern). Macht mir Spaß (literally "makes me fun") is the everyday way to say you enjoy something.

Hobbies in German: Vocabulary by Category

Each hobby is listed as a verb phrase, ready to use in a sentence.

Sports

German	English	Example
Fußball spielen	to play soccer (football)	Ich spiele jeden Samstag Fußball. — I play soccer every Saturday.
schwimmen	to swim	Im Sommer schwimme ich im See. — In summer I swim in the lake.
joggen	to jog	Ich jogge morgens im Park. — I jog in the park in the mornings.
Rad fahren	to cycle	Ich fahre jeden Tag Rad. — I cycle every day.
wandern	to hike	Wir wandern gern in den Bergen. — We like hiking in the mountains.
Yoga machen	to do yoga	Ich mache zweimal pro Woche Yoga. — I do yoga twice a week.
ins Fitnessstudio gehen	to go to the gym	Nach der Arbeit gehe ich ins Fitnessstudio. — After work I go to the gym.

Wandern is a false friend: it means hiking, not wandering around.

Culture and Creative Hobbies

German	English	Example
lesen	to read	Ich lese gern Krimis. — I like reading crime novels.
Musik hören	to listen to music	Ich höre viel Musik, vor allem Jazz. — I listen to a lot of music, especially jazz.
ins Kino gehen	to go to the movies	Gehen wir am Freitag ins Kino? — Shall we go to the movies on Friday?
ins Konzert gehen	to go to a concert	Ich gehe oft ins Konzert. — I often go to concerts.
ins Museum gehen	to go to a museum	Am Sonntag gehen wir ins Museum. — On Sunday we're going to a museum.
Gitarre spielen	to play the guitar	Ich spiele seit drei Jahren Gitarre. — I've been playing the guitar for three years.
Klavier spielen	to play the piano	Meine Tochter spielt Klavier. — My daughter plays the piano.
malen	to paint	Am Wochenende male ich gern. — I like painting on weekends.
fotografieren	to take photos	Im Urlaub fotografiere ich viel. — On vacation I take lots of photos.

No article with instruments: English plays the guitar, German just plays Gitarre.

German	English	Example
Freunde treffen	to meet friends	Ich treffe heute Abend Freunde. — I'm meeting friends tonight.
ausgehen	to go out	Am Freitagabend gehe ich oft aus. — I often go out on Friday nights.
feiern	to party, to celebrate	Wir feiern am Samstag Lenas Geburtstag. — We're celebrating Lena's birthday on Saturday.
spazieren gehen	to go for a walk	Nach dem Essen gehen wir spazieren. — After the meal we go for a walk.
essen gehen	to eat out	Wir gehen gern essen. — We like eating out.

You'll also hear Ich treffe mich mit Freunden. — I'm meeting up with friends. Both versions are correct.

At Home

German	English	Example
kochen	to cook	Ich koche gern für Freunde. — I like cooking for friends.
backen	to bake	Sonntags backe ich oft Brot. — I often bake bread on Sundays.
gärtnern	to garden	Mein Vater gärtnert jeden Tag. — My dad gardens every day.
zocken / Videospiele spielen	to game / to play video games	Abends zocke ich online mit Freunden. — In the evenings I game online with friends.

Zocken is casual and popular with younger people (it originally meant "to gamble"); Videospiele spielen is neutral. In everyday speech, gärtnern often becomes im Garten arbeiten: Meine Oma arbeitet gern im Garten. — My grandma likes working in the garden.

Spielen, Machen or Gehen?

German uses "play", "do" and "go" for hobbies too, but not always where English does. The logic is literal: you play games and instruments, do an activity, and go somewhere to do it.

Verb	Used for	Examples
spielen	ball games, games, instruments	Fußball, Tennis, Schach, Karten, Gitarre, Klavier, Videospiele spielen
machen	general activities, many non-ball sports	Sport, Yoga, Karate, Musik, Fotos machen
gehen + infinitive	activities you go out to do	schwimmen, joggen, wandern, tanzen, spazieren gehen
gehen + ins / in die	places	ins Kino, ins Konzert, ins Museum, ins Theater, in die Oper gehen
fahren	anything with wheels or skis	Rad fahren, Ski fahren, Skateboard fahren

With gehen + infinitive, the second verb goes to the end: Ich gehe am Samstag schwimmen. — I'm going swimming on Saturday. No zu, and no -ing form.

With places, in takes the accusative because you're going somewhere: in das Kino becomes ins Kino. Once you're there, it's dative: Ich bin im Kino. — I'm at the movies. Our guide to two-way prepositions explains the switch.

How Often? Frequency Words

German	English	Example
immer	always	Beim Joggen höre ich immer Musik. — I always listen to music when I jog.
oft	often	Wir spielen oft Karten. — We often play cards.
manchmal	sometimes	Manchmal spiele ich Tennis. — Sometimes I play tennis.
selten	rarely	Ich gehe selten aus. — I rarely go out.
nie	never	Ich zocke nie unter der Woche. — I never play video games during the week.
jeden Tag	every day	Ich lese jeden Tag. — I read every day.
am Wochenende	on the weekend	Am Wochenende gehen wir wandern. — On the weekend we go hiking.
einmal pro Woche	once a week	Ich gehe einmal pro Woche schwimmen. — I go swimming once a week.
montags	on Mondays	Montags habe ich Training. — I have practice on Mondays.

Frequency words usually come right after the verb: Ich gehe oft ins Kino. Put one first for emphasis, and the verb stays second, as in Manchmal spiele ich Tennis.

Jeden Tag is accusative, so the ending follows the gender: der Tag → jeden Tag, die Woche → jede Woche, das Jahr → jedes Jahr. For am Montag (on Monday) vs. montags (every Monday), see our guide to the days of the week in German.

Vereine: How Germans Do Hobbies

In Germany, hobbies often come with a membership. A club is der Verein (plural die Vereine), and there are more than 600,000 registered ones. The e.V. after a club's name stands for eingetragener Verein (registered association). Sports clubs alone count around 29 million memberships, and Germans joke about it themselves: Wenn sich drei Deutsche treffen, gründen sie einen Verein. — When three Germans meet, they start a club.

There's a club for almost everything, from soccer and choirs (der Chor) to allotment-garden clubs (der Kleingartenverein). Fees are usually modest, and joining one is one of the best ways to make friends and practice your German.

Ich bin im Fußballverein. — I'm in a soccer club.
Ich bin Mitglied in einem Chor. — I'm a member of a choir.
Wann ist das Training? — When is practice?
Wie hoch ist der Mitgliedsbeitrag? — How much is the membership fee?

For more everyday customs, see our guide to cultural habits in Germany.

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
Ich gern lese.	Ich lese gern.	The verb comes second; gern follows it.
Ich mag lesen.	Ich lese gern.	For activities, use the verb + gern. Mögen works best with nouns: Ich mag Bücher.
Ich spiele die Gitarre.	Ich spiele Gitarre.	No article with instruments.
Ich mache Fußball.	Ich spiele Fußball.	Ball games take spielen.
Ich gehe zu schwimmen.	Ich gehe schwimmen.	Gehen + infinitive, no zu.
Ich bin interessiert in Kunst.	Ich interessiere mich für Kunst.	German uses the reflexive verb sich interessieren für.
Meine Hobbies sind lesen und kochen.	Meine Hobbys sind Lesen und Kochen.	The plural is Hobbys, and hobbies used as nouns are capitalized.

Sich interessieren für is one of many verbs with a fixed preposition. Our list of German verbs with prepositions has the most useful ones.

Practice

Fill in the gaps:

Ich ___ gern Klavier. (spielen)
Mein Bruder ___ gern Krimis. (lesen)
Wir gehen am Freitag ___ Kino.
___ fahre ich Rad. (most of all)
Ich mache ___ Woche Yoga. (every)
Kochen ___ mir Spaß.

Answers: 1. spiele 2. liest 3. ins 4. Am liebsten 5. jede 6. macht

Watch the stem-changing verbs: du liest, er fährt Rad, sie trifft Freunde. Our guide to the German present tense lists them. Then write three sentences about your own free time with gern, lieber and am liebsten, explore the word Freizeit, and test yourself with an A1 German quiz.

FAQ

How do you say "hobbies" in German?

Das Hobby, plural die Hobbys. To ask someone about theirs: Was sind deine Hobbys? — What are your hobbies?

How do you ask "What do you like to do?" in German?

Informally, Was machst du gern? Formally, Was machen Sie gern? To ask about free time in general: Was machst du in deiner Freizeit?

How do you say "I like to…" in German?

Use the verb plus gern: Ich tanze gern. — I like dancing. Use lieber for "prefer" and am liebsten for "like most of all".

What does Freizeit mean?

Die Freizeit means free time or leisure time: In meiner Freizeit lese ich viel. — In my free time I read a lot.

Hobbies in German: Was machst du gern? Freizeit Vocabulary

How to Ask About Hobbies in German