Talking about Hobbies & Interests in Japanese

Have you ever wanted to tell someone about your favorite things to do—in Japanese? Whether you are starting to learn the language or already live in Japan, knowing how to talk about your interests and hobbies in Japanese is a must. It’s one of the easiest ways to connect with Japanese people, make friends, and show off your personality a little bit!

So, how do you say “My hobby is…” in Japanese? The short answer: しゅみは〜です (shumi wa ~ desu). But that is not the only way you can talk about your hobbies in Japanese. Just saying “My hobby is board games” over and over gets boring fast.

What if you could say “I’m into…” or “These days I’ve been obsessed with…” in Japanese, too? In Japanese, there are many ways to express your hobbies and favorite activities. If you want to sound like a native speaker as you engage in conversations about what you love, keep scrolling to discover how to share your hobbies in Japanese!

Table of Contents:

What exactly is Shumi? (Hobbies in Japanese)

Hobbies in Japanese is called 趣味 (しゅみ, shumi). In Japanese society, 趣味 refers to hobbies or interests that individuals pursue in their leisure time. Engaging in hobbies can often foster social connections, as many people join clubs or groups called サークル (sa-kuru, or circles) centered around shared interests, such as physical activities, sports, arts, or cultural practices. Hobbies can range from traditional skills like tea ceremonies and calligraphy to modern pursuits such as gaming and anime fandom.

However, the Japanese word for hobbies does not capture the exact same ideas as the often-asked question: “what do you do in your free time?” Hobbies in Japanese society are centered around the idea of interests and specific activities. While you may answer that you spend time with family or friends in your free time, Japanese people tend to not answer this when asked the same question. This is because they think about hobbies when they are asked about how they spend their free time.

In this post, we will talk about expressing interests and hobbies in Japanese in different ways and give you some advice to expand that conversation.

Phrase #1: 趣味は… (Shumi wa…)

This is the most straightforward way to talk about your hobbies in Japanese. This is the same as saying “My hobby is…”

Example Conversation:

A: 趣味は何ですか。 (Shumi wa nandesuka?)
= What are your hobbies?

B: 趣味は読書です。 (Shumi wa dokusho desu.)
= My hobby is reading.

Now, you may be thinking, isn’t reading 読む (yomu) in Japanese? Well, when you express hobbies in Japanese in this way, we must use the noun or the name for the activity. Some of the verbs you might have learned already may feel unfamiliar to you when they are nouns so we have compiled a list of activities and their related verbs.

You may find it useful to know these nouns when you express your hobbies in Japanese. So keep these vocabulary in your mind for when you get asked about your interests.

Phrase #2: [noun]…が好きです (… ga suki desu)

Another way to indicate your interests or hobbies in Japanese is to use this beginner-friendly sentence structure “I like X.” 

Example (Formal Speech):

カラオケが好きです。
karaoke ga suki desu.
= I like karaoke

Example (Casual Speech):

料理が好き。
ryori ga suki desu.
= I like cooking

Phrase #3: [verb] のが好きです (no ga suki desu)

At first glance, this may look very similar to Phrase #2, but this time you can use verbs instead of nouns.

Examples:

絵を描くのが好きです。
e wo kaku noga suki desu
= I like to draw (illustrations)

バイクに乗るのが好きです。
baiku ni noru noga suki desu
= I like to ride a motorcycle

Do you recognize where the verbs are? In the sentences above, they are 描く kaku and 乗る noru. Now, what follows the verbs? Notice the の (no). We did not use this in Phrase 2 when we indicated what we like. However, when we use a verb, we must turn the phrase into a noun. This step is called nominalizing the verb. Therefore, the template becomes.

…[verb dictionary form] のが好きです。(noga suki desu)
= I like to…

This sentence template allows you to use more familiar terms such as your basic verbs rather than using the hobby nouns we listed above. Consequently, we can use verbs and action words to indicate our hobbies in Japanese, just like when we say “I like to do…” in English.

Common Verbs for Hobbies in Japanese

With the phrase above, here are some hobbies you can describe using verbs. Note that some verbs require a little more context, hence the nouns in front.

Phrase #4: …にハマっています (ni hamatte imasu) 

One fun and natural way to talk about your hobbies or current obsessions in Japanese is with the phrase …にハマっています. This expression comes from the verb ハマる, which originally means “to fit into” or “to get stuck,”. In a less formal conversation, it’s often used to describe being really into something—like a hobby, show, game, or trend. Think of it as saying “I’m hooked on…” or “I’m obsessed with…”. Some even translate this as “I am addicted”.

For example, if you’re really into anime lately, you might say:

アニメにハマっています
anime ni hamatte imasu.

It’s quite common to hear in everyday speech and a great way to sound more natural when sharing what you’re currently enjoying.

Up for a challenge? Try this short listening video by Sayaka Sensei and see if you recognize any words and phrases from here.

Asking Questions about Hobbies in Japanese

Until now, we have covered how to explain your hobbies in Japanese. Now let’s turn them into a conversation. Here is an example on how a discussion of hobbies could go.

A: 趣味は何ですか。
shumi wa nandesuka?

B: 最近アウトドアにハマっています。よくキャンプをします。
　 saikin auto doa ni hamatteimasu. yoku kyanpu wo shimasu.

A: いいですね。どこでキャンプをしますか。
iidesune. doko de kyanpu wo shimasu ka?

B: 富士山の近くでキャンプをします。
fujisan no chikaku de kyanpu wo shimasu

If you want to know more about asking questions in conversations, you may want to learn a little on how to use 何 nani, a key question word in Japanese by reading the blog here:

Asking when you started

Do you want to ask when someone started their hobbies in Japanese? Use these questions.

どのくらいやっていますか。
dono kurai yattemasu ka?
= How long have you been doing it?

いつ始めましたか。
itsu hajime mashitaka?
= When did you start?

Both of these questions work to know when someone started their hobbies. Still, there is a difference between the two. The first one emphasizes continuity and how long they have been pursuing the hobby. The latter asks when they started, which is a question better suited for people who may have started recently.

Here’s a conversation example.

A: 趣味は何ですか。(shumi wa nandesuka)
B: 趣味はカメラです。(shumi wa kamera desu)
A: カメラはどのくらいやっていますか。(kamera wa dono kurai yatteimasuka)
B: 3年くらいやっています。(san-nen kurai yatteimasu)

Translation:
A: What is your hobby?
B: My hobby is cameras.
A: How long have you been working with cameras?
B: About 3 years.

To answer どのくらいやっていますか, you want to replace the どのくらい with the actual duration.

With いつ始めましたか, you will want to pin-point the time when you started. Here are some words you can use to answer that question. Just fill in the blanks with the words below:

__________ 始めました。(hajimemashita)
I started…

With the phrase いつ始めましたか, there are different time words you can use. You can use time words referencing the past, or talk about how long ago you started. Alternatively, you can use a stage in your life such as when you were a child or in high school to emphasize when you started a hobby.

Ready to learn more?

Today you learned how to talk about hobbies in Japanese. Now you can enjoy conversations where you talk about your own interests and hopefully connect with those who share the same hobbies as you. With these phrases, you can surely find someone like you or learn more about a hobby you have not done before. However, have you…

• Ever thought of learning Japanese, but have no access to classes?
• Learned Japanese, but want to speak more?
• Given up on speaking Japanese before?
• Been tired of your unmotivated classmates?
• OR are you UNMOTIVATED to study Japanese?

Then you should check out Sayaka’s Beginners Japanese lessons! With engaging weekly lessons covering task-based conversation practice, kanji, grammar for different situations, and useful phrases, you will for sure fall in love with all the fun and warmth you will experience in Sayaka’s class. Check her 101-104 level and 201 classes out here!

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