Talking about what you like to do in German
Was machst du am Wochenende? What do you do at the weekend?
Ich? Ich spiele Videospiele. I play video games.
If you want to talk about what you do in your free time the verb spielen - to play is really useful.
Mein Bruder spielt Fußball. My brother plays football.
And if you like to do something you can add gern.
Er spielt gern Fußball. He likes to play football.
And you don’t just play games in your free time, you also play musical instruments.
Ich spiele Klavier. I play piano.
Er spielt Gitarre. He plays guitar.
There are some activities in German which you do using the verb machen - to do or to make.
Ich mache Karate. I do karate.
Mein Bruder macht Videos. My brother makes videos.
And there are some activities you go to using the verb gehen - to go.
Ich gehe ins Kino. I go to the cinema.
So, with spielen - ‘to play’, machen - to make and to do, and gehen - to go, you can say lots about your free time.
There are lots of things you could do in your free time. To talk about what you like to do regularly, you will need to use thepresent tense. You have to conjugate the verb depending on who is doing the activity. Conjugate means changing the endings of a verb to match the person doing the action.
| Pronoun | Regular verb ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ich | -e | ich höre - I listen |
| du | -st | du hörst - you listen |
| er | -t | er hört - he listens |
| sie | -t | sie hört - she listens |
- Ich gehe einkaufen - I go shopping.
- Er geht auf soziale Medien - He goes on social media.
- Sie geht ins Kino - She goes to the cinema.
Hobbies
Use the phrases in the slideshow below to talk about what you like to do.
Image caption, Ich sehe fern - I watch TV
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Sports
But what if you like sports?
Like in English, some sports use the verb to play (spielen).
- Ich spiele Fußball - I play football.
- Sie spielt Rugby - She plays rugby.
Some sports use the verb to go (gehen).
- Ich gehe schwimmen - I go swimming.
- Er geht Skateboard fahren - He goes skateboarding.
Some sports use the verb to do (machen).
- Ich mache Leichtathletik - I do athletics.
- Mein Bruder macht Karate - My brother does karate.
Click on this downloadable to see more sports and hobbies vocabulary.
Giving opinions
You can say whether you like or dislike doing something by using the adverb gern (like) and nicht gern (dislike). This comes after the verb:
- Ich höre gern Musik - I like listening to music.
- Ich sehe nicht gern fern - I don’t like watching TV.
You can give specific reasons by using denn (because) with adjectives.
- Ich höre gern Musik, denn es ist unterhaltsam - I like listening to music because it is entertaining.
- Ich sehe nicht gern fern, denn es ist langweilig - I don't like watching TV because it is boring.
You can also use opinion phrases like ich mag (I like), ich liebe (I love), ich hasse (I hate) and mein Lieblingssport ist (my favourite sport is):
- Ich mag Skifahren - I like skiing.
- Ich liebe Rugby - I love rugby.
- Ich hasse Angeln, denn es ist langweilig - I hate fishing because it is boring.
- Mein Lieblingssport ist Rugby, denn es ist spannend - My favourite sport is rugby because it is exciting.
Look at the adjectives in the table below. Can you write your own opinion sentences about your hobbies?
| German | English |
|---|---|
| denn | because |
| toll | great |
| unterhaltsam | entertaining |
| spannend | exciting |
| entspannend | relaxing |
| schnell | fast |
| langsam | slow |
| interessant | interesting |
| langweilig | boring |
| es macht Spaß | it is fun (literally it makes fun) |
Video
Watch the video, then test your understanding in the short quiz!
What should we do?
ANNA: Hast du Lust diese Woche mit mir ins Kino zu gehen?
CHRISTINA: Ja gerne. Warum nicht?
ANNA: Wann hast du Zeit? Hast du Morgen was vor?
CHRISTINA: Morgen ist Donnerstag. Am Donnerstag spiele ich Klavier. Ich könnte eventuell Freitag mit dir ins Kino gehen.
ANNA: Freitag kann ich nicht. Ich spiele nach der Schule Fußball.
CHRISTINA: Ja klar. Du spielst jeden Freitag Fußball. Macht das Spaß?
ANNA: Ich mag Fußballspielen, denn ich bin mit meinen Freunden zusammen. Magst du Fußball?
CHRISTINA: Nein. Ich mag Fußball nicht… Ich finde es langweilig.
ANNA: Am Samstag was machst du?
CHRISTINA: Ich kann Samstag früh auch nicht mit dir ins Kino gehen.
ANNA: Warum nicht?
CHRISTINA: Ich gehe mit meiner Schwester schwimmen. Ich gehe jeden Samstag mit ihr schwimmen.
ANNA: Samstag früh mache ich gar nichts. Ich liege im Bett und spiele mit meinem Handy.
CHRISTINA: Aber was machst du am Samstag nachmittag? Hast du was vor?
ANNA: Nein, nichts. Ich bin am Samstag nachmittag total frei. Also, gehen wir zusammen ins Kino?
CHRISTINA: Toll. Wir können meinen Leiblingsfilm sehen. Gehen wir?
ANNA: Bestimmt. Aber ich muss um 19 Uhr zu Hause sein.Ich muss für meine Schwester babysitten.
Translation
ANNA: Do you want to go to the cinema with me this week?
CHRISTINA: Yes, I’d love to. Why not?
ANNA: When have you got time? Are you free tomorrow?
CHRISTINA: Tomorrow is Thursday. On Thursday I play piano. I could go with you on Friday afternoon.
ANNA: I can’t on Friday. I play football after school.
CHRISTINA: Of course. You play football. Is it fun?
ANNA: I like playing football, because I’m with my friends. Do you like football?
CHRISTINA: No, I don’t like football, I find it boring.
ANNA: What are you doing on Saturday?
CHRISTINA: I can’t go to the cinema with you first thing on Saturday.
ANNA: Why not?
CHRISTINA: I’m going swimming with my sister. I go swimming with her every Saturday.
ANNA: I don’t do anything at all on Saturday mornings. I lie in bed and play with my phone.
CHRISTINA: But what are you doing on Saturday afternoon? Have you got anything on?
ANNA: No, nothing. I’m completely free on Saturday afternoon. Shall we go to the cinema together?
CHRISTINA: Great. We could see my favourite film. Shall we go?
ANNA: Sure, but I have to be home by 19:00. I have to babysit my sister
Quiz
Game - FestiLingo: German. game
Visit the festival and practise German language skills in this game
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