How to talk about hobbies in Chinese

爱好 (Hobbies) is one of the first topics covered in beginner Mandarin textbooks. It's a nice entry lesson, but it's arguably rather too formal and stiff for daily conversation in any language. Can you remember the last time you asked a fellow English speaker their hobbies?

It turns out that it's not so common in Mandarin either. Native speakers don't tend to ask, "你的爱好是什么?" ("What are your hobbies?"), unless perhaps in an interview or on a blind date.

Below are a few alternative questions and answers that sound more natural to native-speaking ears:

QUESTIONS

你空余时间喜欢做什么？

nǐ kòngyú shíjiān xǐhuan zuò shénme?

What do you like to do in your free time?

你周末一般做什么？

nǐ zhōumò yībān zuò shénme?

What do you usually do on the weekends?

ANSWERS

我喜欢 [学中文]。 

wǒ xǐhuan [xué zhōngwén].

I like [to study Chinese].

我喜欢 [摄影]。

wǒ xǐhuān [shèyǐng].

I am interested in [photography].

我平时喜欢 [去健身或者看朋友们]。

wǒ píngshí xǐhuān [qù jiànshēn huòzhě kàn péngyǒumen].

I normally like [to go workout or see friends]. 

我平时 [就宅在家里看电影]。

wǒ píngshí [jiù zhái zài jiālǐ kàn diànyǐng].

I normally [just hang out at home watching movies].

我空余时间基本是 [玩游戏。我"中毒"了!]

wǒ kòngyú shíjiān jīběn shì [wán yóuxì. Wǒ "zhòngdú" le!]

I spend most of my free time [playing video games. I am addicted!]

有时候我喜欢 [跟朋友去爬山]。

yǒu shíhòu wǒ xǐhuān [gēn péngyǒu qù páshān].

Sometimes I like to [go hiking in the mountains with friends].

我什么空余时间都没有！我是一个工作狂！

wǒ shénme kòngyú shíjiān dōu méiyǒu! Wǒ shì yīgè gōngzuò kuáng!

I don't have any free time! I'm a workaholic!

我喜欢尝试新鲜事物。

wǒ xǐhuān chángshì xīnxiān shìwù.

I like to try doing new things.

有机会时 [我喜欢去旅游]。

yǒu jīhuì shí [wǒ xǐhuān qù lǚyóu].

When I have the opportunity [I like to go traveling].

Tell us how your spend your free time in the comments section!