Japanese Lesson 24 – Free-Time Hobbies · N5

📋 Expression Reference — Free-Time Hobbies

Key phrases across formality levels. Press ▶ to hear any expression.

STANDARD — ていねい (TEINEI)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
しゅみはなんですか？	Shumi wa nan desu ka?	しゅみはどくしょです。 Shumi wa dokusho desu.	Asking about hobbies — polite
よくなにをしますか？	Yoku nani wo shimasu ka?	よくさんぽをします。 Yoku sanpo wo shimasu.	Asking what someone often does
いつからはじめましたか？	Itsu kara hajimemashita ka?	さんねんまえからです。 San-nen mae kara desu.	Asking since when — duration
りょうりがじょうずですね。	Ryouri ga jouzu desu ne.	いいえ、まだまだです。 Iie, madamada desu.	Complimenting someone's skill — humble denial is normal

CASUAL — くだけた (KUDAKETA)

Expression	Romaji	Typical Response	Context
しゅみなに？	Shumi nani?	ギターだよ。 Gitaa da yo.	Casual "What's your hobby?" — drop は and ですか
やすみのひ、なにしてる？	Yasumi no hi, nani shiteru?	たいていゲームしてるよ。 Taitei geemu shiteru yo.	"What do you do on days off?" — casual ～てる form
えー、すごいじゃん！	Ee, sugoi jan!	そう？ありがとう！ Sou? Arigatou!	Reacting to something impressive — casual exclamation

🗣 Mini Dialogues

Three scenes at different formality levels. Press ▶ to hear each line.

A — STANDARD · Self-Introduction at a Club

ゆみ

しゅみはなんですか？

Shumi wa nan desu ka?

What is your hobby?

しゅみは [HOBBY] です。

shumi wa [hobby] desu.

hobby (topic) [hobby] is

→ "My hobby is [hobby]."

けんた

しゅみはどくしょです。まいにちよんでいます。

Shumi wa dokusho desu. Mainichi yonde imasu.

My hobby is reading. I read every day.

ゆみ

いいですね。わたしもどくしょがすきです。

Ii desu ne. Watashi mo dokusho ga suki desu.

That's nice. I also like reading.

B — STANDARD · Colleagues Chatting About Weekends

あきら

やすみのひはよくなにをしますか？

Yasumi no hi wa yoku nani wo shimasu ka?

What do you often do on your days off?

[FREQUENCY] [ACTIVITY] をします。

[yoku / tokidoki / mainichi] [activity] wo shimasu.

[often / sometimes / every day] [activity] do

→ "I [often/sometimes/every day] do [activity]."

まり

ときどきりょうりをします。さんねんかんつづけています。

Tokidoki ryouri wo shimasu. San-nenkan tsuzukete imasu.

I sometimes cook. I've been doing it for three years.

[NUMBER] ねんかん [ACTIVITY] をしています。

[number] nenkan [activity] wo shite imasu.

[N] years (duration) [activity] have been doing

→ "I've been doing [activity] for [N] years."

あきら

すごいですね。りょうりがじょうずですか？

Sugoi desu ne. Ryouri ga jouzu desu ka?

That's amazing. Are you good at cooking?

C — CASUAL · Friends Discovering Shared Hobbies

そうた

ねえ、しゅみなに？

Nee, shumi nani?

Hey, what's your hobby?

みく

ギターだよ。まいにちれんしゅうしてる。

Gitaa da yo. Mainichi renshuu shiteru.

Guitar! I practise every day.

まいにち [ACTIVITY] してる。

mainichi [activity] shiteru.

every day [activity] am doing (casual)

→ "I do [activity] every day." — casual ～てる form

そうた

えー、すごいじゃん！おれもギターやりたい！

Ee, sugoi jan! Ore mo gitaa yaritai!

Wow, that's awesome! I want to play guitar too!

📋 Key Patterns & Cheatsheet ▼

Stating your hobby

STANDARD

しゅみは [HOBBY] です。

Shumi wa [hobby] desu.

→ "My hobby is [hobby]."

CASUAL

[HOBBY] だよ。

[hobby] da yo.

→ "It's [hobby]." — drop しゅみは entirely.

Frequency adverbs

🟢 STANDARD

よく / ときどき / あまり / ぜんぜん

yoku / tokidoki / amari / zenzen

often / sometimes / not very / not at all

Place before the verb. あまり and ぜんぜん require negative verb (～ません).

🟡 CASUAL

よく / たまに / あんまり / ぜんぜん

yoku / tama ni / anmari / zenzen

often / once in a while / not really / not at all

あんまり = casual form of あまり. Pair with ～ない.

Asking about duration

STANDARD

いつから [ACTIVITY] をしていますか？

Itsu kara [activity] wo shite imasu ka?

→ "Since when have you been doing [activity]?"

CASUAL

いつから [ACTIVITY] してるの？

Itsu kara [activity] shiteru no?

→ "Since when have you been doing [activity]?" — casual ～てる + の

Wanting to do something — ～たい

🟢 STANDARD

ギターをひきたいです。

Gitaa wo hikitai desu.

I want to play guitar.

Verb stem + たいです — polite desire form.

🟡 CASUAL

ギターやりたい！

Gitaa yaritai!

I wanna play guitar!

Drop です and を. やりたい = want to do (casual catch-all).

A — Flashcards

Click a card to flip it. Use ▶ to hear the Japanese.

tap to flip

1 / 10

B — Listen & Choose the Meaning

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then choose the correct English meaning.

C — Choose the Right Response

Listen to the question, then choose the most natural reply.

D — Listen & Write in Romaji

Press ▶ to hear each phrase, then type what you heard in romaji. Japanese letters are not needed.

💡 Tip: Long vowels → double the vowel (おう = ou / oo). Double consonants → write them twice (きって = kitte).

E — Shadowing Practice

Press ▶ to hear each line, say it aloud, then mark it as practised.

0 of 9 lines practised

📖 Grammar Notes ▼

しゅみは～です — "My hobby is ~"

The standard way to state your hobby. しゅみ (shumi) means "hobby." Use は (wa) to mark it as the topic, then name the hobby + です.

• しゅみはどくしょです。= My hobby is reading.
• しゅみはサッカーです。= My hobby is football.

In casual speech, drop しゅみは and just say the hobby + だよ: ギターだよ。

しゅみは [HOBBY] です。

shumi wa [hobby] desu.

→ "My hobby is [hobby]."

しゅみはどくしょです。

Shumi wa dokusho desu.

My hobby is reading.

Frequency adverbs — よく / ときどき / あまり / ぜんぜん

Place the frequency adverb before the verb to express how often you do something:

  • よく (yoku) = often, frequently
  • ときどき (tokidoki) = sometimes
  • あまり (amari) = not very much — MUST pair with negative verb (～ません / ～ない)
  • ぜんぜん (zenzen) = not at all — MUST pair with negative verb

⚠️ あまり and ぜんぜん are "negative adverbs" — always followed by a negative ending.

[FREQUENCY] [ACTIVITY] をします。

[yoku / tokidoki] [activity] wo shimasu.

→ "I [often/sometimes] do [activity]."

よくさんぽをします。

Yoku sanpo wo shimasu.

I often go for walks.

～を～ねんかんしています — duration

To express how long you've been doing something, use the duration counter ～ねんかん (nenkan = years) or ～かげつ (kagetsu = months) before the verb in ～ている form.

  • さんねんかん = for 3 years
  • ごねんかん = for 5 years
  • ろっかげつ = for 6 months

The verb ～ている / ～ています expresses an ongoing action or state.

[NUMBER] ねんかん [ACTIVITY] をしています。

[number] nenkan [activity] wo shite imasu.

→ "I've been doing [activity] for [N] years."

さんねんかんりょうりをしています。

San-nenkan ryouri wo shite imasu.

I've been cooking for three years.

～のがすきです — "like doing ~"

To say you like doing an activity, use the dictionary form of the verb + のがすきです. The の nominalises the verb (turns it into a noun).

  • よむのがすきです = I like reading
  • つくるのがすきです = I like making (things)
  • およぐのがすきです = I like swimming

Casual: drop です → よむのがすき。

[VERB-dictionary] のがすきです。

[verb] no ga suki desu.

→ "I like [doing verb]."

ほんをよむのがすきです。

Hon wo yomu no ga suki desu.

I like reading books.

～たいです — "I want to ~"

Express a desire to do something by removing ます from the polite verb and adding たいです:

  • ひきます → ひきたいです (I want to play [an instrument])
  • たべます → たべたいです (I want to eat)
  • はじめます → はじめたいです (I want to start)

Casual: drop です → やりたい！ The catch-all verb やる (yaru = to do) is very common casually.

[VERB-stem] たいです。

[verb stem] tai desu.

→ "I want to [verb]."

ギターをひきたいです。

Gitaa wo hikitai desu.

I want to play guitar.

あまり～ません — "not very often"

あまり (amari) is a negative frequency adverb meaning "not very much / not very often." It MUST be paired with a negative verb ending.

• あまりしません = I don't do it very often
• あまりみません = I don't watch it very much

Casual: あんまり + ～ない → あんまりしない。

あまり [ACTIVITY] をしません。

amari [activity] wo shimasen.

→ "I don't do [activity] very often."

あまりうんどうをしません。

Amari undou wo shimasen.

I don't exercise very often.

📚 Key Vocabulary ▼

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
しゅみ	shumi	hobby
どくしょ	dokusho	reading (books)
りょうり	ryouri	cooking
さんぽ	sanpo	walk / stroll
うんどう	undou	exercise / sports
ギター	gitaa	guitar
ゲーム	geemu	video game
えいが	eiga	movie / film
おんがく	ongaku	music
れんしゅう	renshuu	practice
じょうず	jouzu	skilled / good at
よく	yoku	often / well
ときどき	tokidoki	sometimes
まいにち	mainichi	every day
はじめる	hajimeru	to start / begin

📋 Expression Reference — Free-Time Hobbies

🗣 Mini Dialogues

A — Flashcards

B — Listen & Choose the Meaning

C — Choose the Right Response

D — Listen & Write in Romaji

E — Shadowing Practice

しゅみは ～です — "My hobby is ~"

Frequency adverbs — よく / ときどき / あまり / ぜんぜん

～を ～ねんかん しています — duration

～のが すきです — "like doing ~"

～たいです — "I want to ~"

あまり ～ません — "not very often"

しゅみは～です — "My hobby is ~"

～を～ねんかんしています — duration

～のがすきです — "like doing ~"

あまり～ません — "not very often"