How To Talk About Your Hobbies In French
Let's learn how to talk about your hobbies in French.
In this lesson, I'll cover hobby vocabulary and a few ways to tell someone what you like to do for fun.
How do you say 'hobby' in French?
'Hobby' in French is 'loisir', and its plural form is 'loisirs'.
It's a masculine word.
Most common hobbies in French
Here's a list of the most common hobbies in French.
There are obviously many more activities that could be included, but I think these are the most important ones.
| Hobbies (in French) | Hobbies (in English) |
|---|---|
| La lecture | Reading |
| L'écriture | Writing |
| Le cinéma | Cinema |
| La musique | Music |
| La danse | Dance |
| Le théâtre | Theater |
| La cuisine | Cooking |
| Le jardinage | Gardening |
| La randonnée | Hiking |
| L'escalade | Rock climbing |
| La natation | Swimming |
| Le yoga | Yoga |
| La méditation | Meditation |
| L'équitation | Horseback riding |
| La peinture | Painting |
| La photographie | Photography |
| Les voyages | Traveling |
| La collection | Collecting |
| Les jeux de société | Board games |
| Les jeux vidéo | Video games |
How to say you like, love or enjoy a hobby in French
To say that you like, love, or enjoy a particular hobby in French, you can use the following expressions:
- J'aime [le/la/les] + [hobby name] (I like [the] + [hobby name])
- J'adore [le/la/les] + [hobby name] (I love [the] + [hobby name])
- J'apprécie [le/la/les] + [hobby name] (I appreciate [the] + [hobby name])
Sample sentences:
J'aime le jardinage.
J'adore la musique.
J'apprécie les jeux de société.
To express a negative form, you can add the word "ne" before the verb and "pas" after the verb, as in the examples below:
How to say you don't like, love or enjoy a hobby in French
- Je n'aime pas [le/la/les] + [hobby name] (I don't like [the] + [hobby name])
- Je n'adore pas [le/la/les] + [hobby name] (I don't love [the] + [hobby name])
- Je n'apprécie pas [le/la/les] + [hobby name] (I don't appreciate [the] + [hobby name])
Sample sentences:
Je n'aime pas la cuisine.
Je n'adore pas les jeux vidéo.
Je n'apprécie pas la méditation.
Of course, instead of using the negative, you can just say you hate it:
Je deteste le football.
J'ai horreur des musees.
Using faire, jouer and pratiquer
In French, the verb faire (to do/make) is often used when talking about hobbies or leisure activities, especially when referring to physical activities.
To use faire with hobbies, simply use the verb followed by the name of the activity. The name of the activity can be preceded by an article, depending on the context.
Sample sentences:
Je fais de la natation.
Nous faisons de la randonnée.
Il fait du yoga.
Note that some hobbies use specific verbs instead of faire. For instance, you would use jouer (to play) with sports, games or musical instruments.
For example:
Je joue au football.
Elle joue de la guitare.
NOTE: In French, you play "at" a sport (e.g. il joue au football), but for a musical instrument, you use the preposition de (e.g. elle joue de la guitare).
You can also use pratiquer (to practice) with some hobbies or sports, particularly when referring to more formal or structured activities.
Sample sentences:
Il pratique le judo.
Elle pratique la danse classique.
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