Once you’ve gotten past the weather, it can be tough to come up with small talk in another language. Fortunately, there’s another go-to topic: hobbies! Everyone has a hobby, which gives you an endless number of topics. But that also means that figuring out how to talk about the ways you spend your free time in German can be a little tough. After all, there are so many options.
To start you out, we collected some of the most basic vocabulary for talking about free time to help you as you learn German. From sports to music and back again, there’s bound to be something here you love to do. And if you want to hear how any of this vocab is pronounced by a native speaker, just hit the play button next to each term.
Talking About Free Time In German
General Phrases About Free Time
What do you do in your free time? — Was machst du in deiner Freizeit?
Do you have any hobbies? — Hast du Hobbys?
the fun — der Spaß
Arts And Culture Vocabulary
the theater — das Theater
the play — das Stück
the musical — das Musical
to attend — besuchen
the painting — das Gemälde
the photography — die Fotografie
the gallery — die Galerie
the photo — das Foto
to paint — malen
the drawing — die Zeichnung
the film — der Film
the performance — die Aufführung
the dance — der Tanz
the book — das Buch
to read — lesen
the genre — das Genre
the museum — das Museum
the music — die Musik
to sing — singen
the instrument — das Instrument
the guitar — die Gitarre
the piano — das Klavier
Do you play an instrument? — Spielst du ein Instrument?
I like to listen to my music very loud. — Ich höre gerne sehr laut Musik.
Do you like going to the theater? — Gehst du gern ins Theater?
I learn dancing in a dance course. — Ich lerne in einem Tanzkurs tanzen.
Games And Activities Vocabulary
the game — das Spiel
the puzzle — das Geduldsspiel
the chess — das Schach
the card — die Karte
to play — spielen
the video game — das Videospiel
the role-playing game — das Rollenspiel
the board games — das Brettspiel
the sport — der Sport
the soccer — der Fußball
the gymnasium — das Fitnessstudio
the team — die Mannschaft
to go shopping — einkaufen gehen
second-hand — gebraucht
eating out — essen gehen
the restaurant — das Restaurant
the club — der Club
I love going to restaurants. — Ich liebe es, ins Restaurant zu gehen.
I surf the internet. — Ich surfe im Internet.
Do you do sports? — Treibst du Sport?
I jog every morning. — Ich jogge jeden Morgen.
I play soccer twice a week. — Ich spiele zweimal in der Woche Fußball.
I am a member of a sports club for martial arts. — Ich bin Mitglied in einem Sportverein für asiatische Kampfkunst.