Day 21: Talking About Hobbies and Interests in Korean

 Day 21: Talking About Hobbies and Interests in Korean

Welcome to Day 21 of your Korean language journey! Today, we’ll be learning how to talk about your hobbies and interests in Korean.

Being able to talk about what you like to do in your free time is an important part of building conversations. Whether you enjoy sports, music, or reading, knowing how to express your hobbies and interests will help you engage more meaningfully with others in Korean.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll be able to talk about your favorite activities, explain what you enjoy, and ask others about their hobbies too!

1. Basic Structure for Talking About Hobbies

The basic sentence structure for talking about hobbies and interests in Korean is:

[Subject] + [Object] + 좋아하다 (joahada) – To like [object].

  • Example: 저는 운동을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun undongeul joahaeyo.) – I like exercising.

  • Example: 그녀는 음악을 좋아해요. (Geunyeoneun eumageul joahaeyo.) – She likes music.

When talking about hobbies, we often use 좋아하다 (joahada), which means "to like." However, you can also use 즐기다 (jeulgida), which means "to enjoy," depending on the context.

2. Common Hobbies and Interests in Korean

Here are some common hobbies and activities in Korean that you can use to describe your interests:

  1. 운동 (undong) – Exercise, sports

    • 저는 운동을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun undongeul joahaeyo.) – I like exercising.

  2. 음악 (eumak) – Music

    • 저는 음악을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun eumageul joahaeyo.) – I like music.

  3. 독서 (dokseo) – Reading

    • 저는 책을 읽는 것을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun chaegeul ilneun geoseul joahaeyo.) – I like reading books.

  4. 영화 (yeonghwa) – Movies

    • 저는 영화를 보는 것을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun yeonghwareul boneun geoseul joahaeyo.) – I like watching movies.

  5. 여행 (yeohaeng) – Traveling

    • 저는 여행을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun yeohaengeul joahaeyo.) – I like traveling.

  6. 게임 (geim) – Games

    • 저는 비디오 게임을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun video geimeul joahaeyo.) – I like playing video games.

  7. 요리 (yori) – Cooking

    • 저는 요리를 좋아해요. (Jeoneun yorireul joahaeyo.) – I like cooking.

  8. 사진 찍기 (sajin jjikgi) – Taking photos

    • 저는 사진 찍는 것을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun sajin jjikneun geoseul joahaeyo.) – I like taking photos.

  9. 댄스 (daenseu) – Dancing

    • 저는 춤추는 것을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun chumchuneun geoseul joahaeyo.) – I like dancing.

3. Talking About What You Don’t Like

When talking about what you don’t like, you can use 싫어하다 (silheohada), which means “to dislike” or “to hate.”

Structure:
[Subject] + [Object] + 싫어하다 (silheohada) – To dislike [object].

  • Example: 저는 공부하는 것을 싫어해요. (Jeoneun gongbuhaneun geoseul silheohaeyo.) – I dislike studying.

  • Example: 그는 야구를 싫어해요. (Geuneun yagureul silheohaeyo.) – He dislikes baseball.

4. Asking About Hobbies and Interests

You can also ask others about their hobbies and interests. Here are some questions you can use:

  1. 취미가 뭐예요? (Chwimiga mwoyeyo?) – What’s your hobby?

    • Example answer: 저는 음악을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun eumageul joahaeyo.) – I like music.

  2. 어떤 종류의 음악을 좋아해요? (Eotteon jongryu-ui eumageul joahaeyo?) – What kind of music do you like?

    • Example answer: 저는 클래식을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun keullasigeul joahaeyo.) – I like classical music.

  3. 무슨 운동을 좋아해요? (Museun undongeul joahaeyo?) – What kind of sports do you like?

    • Example answer: 저는 축구를 좋아해요. (Jeoneun chukgureul joahaeyo.) – I like soccer.

  4. 어떤 영화를 좋아해요? (Eotteon yeonghwareul joahaeyo?) – What kind of movies do you like?

    • Example answer: 저는 액션 영화를 좋아해요. (Jeoneun aeksyeon yeonghwareul joahaeyo.) – I like action movies.

5. Talking About Frequency – How Often You Do Things

To express how often you do something, you can use words like:

  • 자주 (jaju) – often

    • 저는 자주 운동해요. (Jeoneun jaju undonghaeyo.) – I exercise often.

  • 가끔 (gakkeum) – sometimes

    • 저는 가끔 영화를 봐요. (Jeoneun gakkeum yeonghwareul bwayo.) – I watch movies sometimes.

  • 전혀 (jeonhyeo) – never

    • 저는 전혀 게임을 하지 않아요. (Jeoneun jeonhyeo geimeul haji anayo.) – I never play games.

6. Practice Talking About Hobbies and Interests

Now it’s time to practice. Try forming some sentences using the hobbies and interests you enjoy:

  1. I like reading books.
    저는 책 읽는 것을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun chaek ilneun geoseul joahaeyo.)

  2. I don’t like cooking.
    저는 요리를 싫어해요. (Jeoneun yorireul silheohaeyo.)

  3. What’s your hobby?
    취미가 뭐예요? (Chwimiga mwoyeyo?)

  4. I like playing video games.
    저는 비디오 게임을 좋아해요. (Jeoneun video geimeul joahaeyo.)

  5. He likes dancing.
    그는 춤추는 것을 좋아해요. (Geuneun chumchuneun geoseul joahaeyo.)

What’s Next? (다음은 무엇인가요?)

Tomorrow, in Day 22, we will learn how to talk about past experiences and how to describe what you did. This will be a great opportunity to practice your verbs in the past tense and describe your experiences in Korean!