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Free Time and Hobbies (Sports, Music, Reading)
Free Time and Hobbies — Sports, Music and Reading
Discussing your hobbies and free-time activities is one of the most frequently tested GCSE German topics. You need vocabulary for a wide range of activities, the ability to express preferences, and the grammar to discuss hobbies in multiple tenses.
1. Hobbies and Free-Time Activities (Hobbys und Freizeitaktivitäten)
Sports (Sport)
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Fußball spielen | to play football |
| Basketball spielen | to play basketball |
| Tennis spielen | to play tennis |
| Tischtennis spielen | to play table tennis |
| Volleyball spielen | to play volleyball |
| Hockey spielen | to play hockey |
| Rugby spielen | to play rugby |
| schwimmen | to swim |
| joggen / laufen | to jog / to run |
| Rad fahren | to cycle |
| reiten | to ride (horses) |
| klettern | to climb |
| wandern | to hike |
| Ski fahren | to ski |
| Schlittschuh laufen | to ice-skate |
| turnen | to do gymnastics |
| tanzen | to dance |
| Kampfsport machen (Judo, Karate) | to do martial arts |
| angeln | to fish |
| segeln | to sail |
Music and Creative Activities
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Gitarre spielen | to play guitar |
| Klavier spielen | to play piano |
| Schlagzeug spielen | to play drums |
| Geige spielen | to play violin |
| Flöte spielen | to play flute |
| in einem Chor singen | to sing in a choir |
| in einer Band spielen | to play in a band |
| Musik hören | to listen to music |
| zeichnen | to draw |
| malen | to paint |
| fotografieren | to take photographs |
| basteln | to do crafts |
| nähen | to sew |
| kochen / backen | to cook / to bake |
Other Hobbies
| German | English |
|---|---|
| lesen | to read |
| Bücher / Romane lesen | to read books / novels |
| Zeitschriften lesen | to read magazines |
| Comics lesen | to read comics |
| fernsehen | to watch TV |
| Filme / Serien schauen | to watch films / series |
| Videospiele / Computerspiele spielen | to play video games |
| im Internet surfen | to surf the internet |
| Brettspiele spielen | to play board games |
| Schach spielen | to play chess |
| spazieren gehen | to go for a walk |
| sich mit Freunden treffen | to meet up with friends |
| ins Kino gehen | to go to the cinema |
| in die Stadt gehen | to go into town |
| Einkaufen gehen | to go shopping |
| Nichts tun / faulenzen | to do nothing / to laze about |
2. Expressing Preferences with gern / lieber / am liebsten
German uses gern (gladly), lieber (preferably) and am liebsten (most of all) to express preferences:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Ich spiele gern Fußball. | I like playing football. |
| Ich spiele nicht gern Tennis. | I don't like playing tennis. |
| Ich spiele lieber Basketball. | I prefer playing basketball. |
| Ich spiele am liebsten Fußball. | I like playing football best of all. |
| Ich lese gern Romane, aber ich sehe lieber fern. | I like reading novels, but I prefer watching TV. |
Exam tip: Using gern / lieber / am liebsten correctly is a simple way to show range. Examiners look for these structures when assessing vocabulary and grammar.
3. Frequency Expressions
| German | English |
|---|---|
| jeden Tag | every day |
| jede Woche | every week |
| jedes Wochenende | every weekend |
| oft | often |
| manchmal | sometimes |
| selten | rarely |
| nie / niemals | never |
| ab und zu | now and then |
| regelmäßig | regularly |
| zweimal pro Woche | twice a week |
| von Zeit zu Zeit | from time to time |
4. Talking About Hobbies in Three Tenses
Present Tense
Ich spiele jeden Samstag Fußball im Verein. In meiner Freizeit lese ich gern und ich treffe mich oft mit Freunden.
Past Tense (Perfect)
Letztes Wochenende habe ich Tennis gespielt und danach bin ich schwimmen gegangen. Am Abend habe ich einen Film gesehen.
Future Tense
Nächstes Wochenende werde ich ins Kino gehen. Ich möchte auch Gitarre spielen lernen.
Exam tip: Using all three tenses (past, present, future) in one response is essential for higher marks. Plan your answer to include at least one sentence in each tense.
5. Giving Opinions on Hobbies
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Es macht mir Spaß. | It is fun for me. |
| Es macht mir keinen Spaß. | It is not fun for me. |
| Es ist langweilig / spannend / entspannend. | It is boring / exciting / relaxing. |
| Ich finde es toll, weil... | I think it is great because... |
| Ich interessiere mich für... | I am interested in... |
| ...begeistert mich. | ...excites me / inspires me. |
Summary Checklist
- Sports: 20 activities
- Music and creative activities: 14 items
- Other hobbies: 17 activities
- Preferences: gern / lieber / am liebsten
- Frequency expressions: 11 phrases
- Three tenses applied to hobbies
- Opinion phrases: 6+ structures