How to talk about hobbies in Chinese
You meet a new friend at a casual social event in Beijing. You want to chat about hobbies to get to know each other. The conversation is friendly and relaxed.
How the conversation starts
王芳 (Wang Fang) · new acquaintance at a social gathering
Talk about hobbies with a new friend
What you do
- Ask what the other person likes to do
- Say what your hobby is
- Say how often you do it
What to say
- 你喜欢做什么？Nǐ xǐhuan zuò shénme?What do you like to do?
- 我喜欢___。Wǒ xǐhuan ___.I like ___.
- 我常常___。Wǒ chángcháng ___.I often ___.
- 我也喜欢___！Wǒ yě xǐhuan ___!I like ___ too!
Talk about hobbies
You've just met a new friend at a casual social event in Shanghai. You're both looking to make friends and want to find common interests. You start chatting about hobbies.
What you do
- Ask what they usually do for fun
- Say what you're into and how often you do it
- Suggest doing it together
What to say
- 你平时喜欢干什么？Nǐ píngshí xǐhuan gàn shénme?What do you usually like to do?
3 more sentences in this lesson, in the app.
Hobbies: say why, and turn down KTV
You've just met 王明 (Wang Ming) at a social event in Shanghai. You've recently got into Chinese calligraphy, which relaxes you. He loves KTV and will invite you along on Friday, but singing really isn't your thing. You'd happily go hiking instead.
What you do
- Say what you're into and why you like it
- He invites you to KTV: politely say singing isn't your thing
- Suggest something else to do together, and when
What to say
- 我最近迷上了书法。Wǒ zuìjìn míshàng le shūfǎ.I've recently got hooked on calligraphy.
4 more sentences in this lesson, in the app.
Now say it out loud
In Kaiko, 王芳 (Wang Fang) answers you out loud in Chinese, and a coach corrects you as you go.