How to Talk About Your Hobbies

Learn how to talk about your hobbies

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Russian by RussianPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your hobbies in Russian.

For example, "I like to fish."

Я люблю рыбачить. (Ya lyublyu rybachit’.)

Two neighbors, Daniel Denisenko and Mikhail Maslov , are having a conversation in an apartment building lobby.

Before you hear their conversation, let’s preview some of its key components.

рыбачить (rybachit’)

"to fish"

рыбачить

хобби (khobbi)

"hobby"

хобби

Listen to the conversation.

У тебя есть хобби? (U tebya yest' khobbi?)

Да, я люблю рыбачить. (Da, ya lyublyu rybachit’.)

Once more with the English translation.

У тебя есть хобби? (U tebya yest' khobbi?)

"Do you have a hobby?"

Да, я люблю рыбачить. (Da, ya lyublyu rybachit’.)

"Yes, I like to fish."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Daniel Denisenko asks,

"Do you have a hobby?"

У тебя есть хобби? (U tebya yest' khobbi?)

Let’s start with хобби (khobbi), "hobby." Хобби . Хобби.

Хобби (khobbi) is singular and neuter.

Moving to the front of the sentence, у тебя (u tebya), a phrase meaning "your." У тебя.

First is У (U), which indicates possession here. У (U). У (U).

Next is тебя (tebya) from ты (ty), "you," but becomes тебя (tebya) here because it follows у (u). Тебя . Тебя.

The grammatical term for this is the genitive case.

Together, у тебя (u tebya), "your." У тебя.

Next is есть (yest’), literally, "exists" here, as in "your hobby exists." Есть . Есть.

All together, it's У тебя есть хобби? (U tebya yest’ khobbi?) This literally means "Your hobby exists?" But it translates as "[Do] you have a hobby?"

У тебя есть хобби? (U tebya yest' khobbi?)

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Mikhail Maslov says,

"Yes, I like to fish."

Да, я люблю рыбачить. (Da, ya lyublyu rybachit’.)

First is да (da), "yes." Да (Da) . Да (Da).

It answers the yes-or-no question У тебя есть хобби? (U tebya yest' khobbi?), "Do you have a hobby?"

Next is я (ya), "I". Я (Ya) , я (ya).

Next is люблю (lyublyu), "like" in this context. Люблю . Люблю.

Люблю (lyublyu) is from the verb любить (lyubit’), literally, "to love," but translates here as "to like." Любить (Lyubit’).

The last word is рыбачить (rybachit’), "to fish". Рыбачить . Рыбачить.

All together it’s Да, я люблю рыбачить. (Da, ya lyublyu rybachit’.), literally "Yes, I love to fish." But it translates as "Yes, I like to fish."

Да, я люблю рыбачить. (Da, ya lyublyu rybachit’.)

The pattern is

Я люблю ACTIVITY. (Ya lyublyu ACTIVITY.)

"I like ACTIVITY."

Я люблю ACTIVITY.

To use this pattern, simply replace the {ACTIVITY} placeholder with an activity you like to do.

Note: the placeholder is a verb and must be placed in the infinitive, or, in other words, the dictionary form.

Imagine you like to travel, путешествовать (puteshestvovat’). Путешествовать . Путешествовать.

Say

"I like to travel."

Ready?

Я люблю путешествовать (Ya lyublyu puteshestvovat’).

"I like to travel."

Я люблю путешествовать (Ya lyublyu puteshestvovat’).

Again, the key pattern is

Я люблю ACTIVITY. (Ya lyublyu ACTIVITY.)

"I like ACTIVITY."

Я люблю ACTIVITY.

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Я люблю рыбачить. (Ya lyublyu rybachit’.)

"I like to fish."

Я люблю рыбачить. (Ya lyublyu rybachit’.)

Я люблю путешествовать. (Ya lyublyu puteshestvovat’.)

"I like to travel."

Я люблю путешествовать. (Ya lyublyu puteshestvovat’.)

Я люблю читать. (Ya lyublyu chitat’.)

"I like to read."

Я люблю читать. (Ya lyublyu chitat’.)

Я люблю готовить. (Ya lyublyu gotovit'.)

"I like to cook."

Я люблю готовить. (Ya lyublyu gotovit'.)

Я люблю играть в хоккей. (Ya lyublyu igrat’ v khokkey).

"I like to play hockey."

Я люблю играть в хоккей. (Ya lyublyu igrat’ v khokkey).

Did you notice how the last speaker uses a different pattern?

Я люблю играть в хоккей. (Ya lyublyu igrat’ v khokkey).

"I like to play hockey."

First is я (ya). "I." Я (Ya).

Next is люблю (lyublyu), "like" Люблю.

Next is играть (igrat’), "to play". Играть . Играть.

After this is в хоккей (v khokkey), literally, "in hockey," but translates as "hockey." В хоккей.

First is the preposition в (v), meaning "in." В . В.

It's used after играть (igrat’), when referring to a recreational activity or a sport.

Note: in this sentence, the preposition в (v) does not have a corresponding English translation.

Last is хоккей (khokkey), "hockey." Хоккей.

Играть в хоккей (igrat’ v khokkey) literally means "to play in hockey" but it translates as "to play hockey".

All together, Я люблю играть в хоккей. (Ya lyublyu igrat’ v khokkey), "I like to play hockey".

Let's review the new words.

читать (chitat')

"to read"

читать

готовить (gotovit’)

"to cook"

готовить

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember the word meaning "to fish?"

рыбачить (rybachit’)

And how to say "I"?

Я (Ya)

Do you remember how Mikhail Maslov says,

"I like to fish."

Я люблю рыбачить. (Ya lyublyu rybachit’.)

Do you remember how to say "hobby"?

хобби (khobbi)

Do you remember how Daniel Denisenko saysy,

Do you have a hobby?

У тебя есть хобби? (U tebya yest' khobbi?)

Do you remember the word meaning "to travel?"

путешествовать (puteshestvovat’)

And the word for "to read?"

читать (chitat')

Do you remember the word for "to cook?"

готовить (gotovit’)

And how to say "yes?"

да (da)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Albina Arndt , and you like to cook, or готовить (gotovit’).

Respond to the question. Include, "yes."

Ready?

У тебя есть хобби? (U tebya yest' khobbi?)

Да, я люблю готовить. (Da, ya lyublyu gotovit’.)

Listen again and repeat.

Да, я люблю готовить. (Da, ya lyublyu gotovit’.)

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Alevtina Alekseeva , and you like to travel, or путешествовать (puteshestvovat’).

Ready?

У тебя есть хобби? (U tebya yest' khobbi?)

Да, я люблю путешествовать. (Da, ya lyublyu puteshestvovat’.)

Listen again and repeat.

Да, я люблю путешествовать. (Da, ya lyublyu puteshestvovat’.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Edward Estis , and you like to read, or читать (chitat').

Ready?

У тебя есть хобби? (U tebya yest' khobbi?)

Да, я люблю читать. (Da, ya lyublyu chitat'.)

Listen again and repeat.

Да, я люблю читать. (Da, ya lyublyu chitat'.)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About Hobbies unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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