72 Hobbies in Japanese and How to Discuss Them 

What do you like to do in your spare time? Are you a sports enthusiast, a creative crafty soul or someone with a wide range of interests?

Whatever you’re into, this blog post will help you learn how to talk about hobbies in Japanese. From essential sentence structures to key vocabulary, we’ll teach you how to talk about all your creative pursuits. 

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Common Hobbies in Japanese

The Japanese word for “hobby” is 趣味  (shumi). Here are some popular hobbies and how to say them in Japanese. 

Sports and Outdoor Hobbies

English	Japanese	Romaji
Archery	弓道	Kyūdō
Astronomy	天文学	Tenmongaku
Backpacking	バックパッキング	Bakkupakkingu
Basketball	バスケットボール	Basuketto Bōru
Birdwatching	バードウォッチング	Bādowatchingu
Bowling	ボウリング	Bōringu
Camping	キャンプ	Kyanpu
Cave exploration	洞窟探検	Dōkutsu Tanken
Fencing	フェンシング	Fenshingu
Fishing	釣り	Tsuri
Foodball	フットボール	Futtobōru
Golf	ゴルフ	Gorufu
Hiking	ハイキング	Haikingu
Horseback riding	乗馬	Jōba
Ice skating	アイススケート	Aisu Sukēto
Martial arts	武道	Budō
Meditation	瞑想	Meisō
Parkour	パルクール	Parukūru
Rock climbing	ロッククライミング	Rokkukuraimingu
Rollerblading	ローラーブレーディング	Rōrāburēdingu
SCUBA diving	スキューバダイビング	Sukyūba Daibingu
Sightseeing	観光	Kankō
Skateboarding	スケートボード	Sukētobōdo
Snorkeling	シュノーケリング	Shunōkeringu
Soccer	サッカー	Sakkā
Swimming	水泳	Suiei
Tennis	テニス	Tenisu
Traveling	旅行	Ryokō
Urban exploration	探検	Tanken
Volleyball	バレーボール	Barēbōru
Walking	散歩	Sanpo
Weightlifting	ウエイトリフティング	Ueitorifutingu
Yoga	ヨガ	Yoga

Creative and Crafty Hobbies

English	Japanese	Romaji
Acting	演技	Engi
Blogging	ブログ	Burogu
Calligraphy	書道	Shodō
Candle making	キャンドル作り	Kyandoru zukuri
Crocheting	かぎ針編み	Kagibariami
Dancing	ダンス	Dansu
Drawing	描画	Byoga
Film-making	映画製作	Eiga Seisaku
Karaoke	カラオケ	Karaoke
Knitting	編み物	Amimono
Metalworking	金属加工	Kinzoku Kakō
Mode building	模型の構築	Mokei no Kochiku
Origami	折り紙	Origami
Painting	絵画	Kaiga
Photography	写真撮影	Shashin Satsuei
Podcasting	ポッドキャスト	Podokyasuto
Pottery making	陶芸	Tōgei
Puzzle solving	謎解き	Nazotoki
Sculpting	彫刻	Chōkoku
Sewing	縫製	Hōsei
Singing	歌唱	Kashō
Soap making	石鹸作り	Sekken Tsukuri
Theater	演劇	Engeki
Playing musical instruments	楽器演奏	Gakki Ensō
Woodworking	木工	Mokkō
Writing	執筆	Shippitsu

Other Hobbies

English	Japanese	Romaji
Beer brewing	ビール醸造	Bīru Jōzō
Board gaming	ボードゲーム	Bōdo Gēmu
Cosplay	コスプレ	Kosupure
Reading	読書	Dokusho
E-sports	Eスポーツ	Ī Supōtsu
Juggling	ジャグリング	Jaguringu
Volunteering	ボランティア	Borantia
Collecting (coins, stamps,etc.)	収集	Shūshū
Cooking	料理	Ryōri
Historical reenactments	歴史の再現	Rekishi no Saigen
Baking	ベーキング	Bēkingu
Video gaming	ビデオゲーム	Bideo Gēmu
Model railroading	鉄道模型	Tetsudō Mokei

How to Talk About Hobbies in Japanese

Here’s everything you need to know about how to talk about your hobbies:

Sentence structures for discussing hobbies

In Japanese, you can express your hobbies using two primary sentence structures:

趣味は + [Hobby] です。 (Shumi wa [Hobby] desu.) — [Hobby] is my hobby.

This structure directly connects the word 趣味 (shumi) to the specific hobby using the particle は (wa).

[Hobby] をするのが趣味です。 ([Hobby] o suru no ga shumi desu.) — I enjoy doing [hobby]. 

This structure emphasizes the action of doing the hobby by using the verb-noun form をする (o suru), followed by the particle のが (no ga), which links the action to the noun 趣味 (shumi).

Using こと and の to discuss hobbies

In Japanese, both こと (koto) and の (no) are commonly used to discuss hobbies, but they are employed in slightly different contexts.

こと is often used to express abstract actions or activities. It transforms a verb into a noun, indicating that the activity described by the verb is a general concept or idea. Here are some examples: 

音楽を聴くことが好きです。 (Ongaku o kiku koto ga suki desu.) — I like listening to music.

読書することが趣味です。 (Dokusho suru koto ga shumi desu.) — Reading is my hobby.

When discussing hobbies, の links the noun representing the activity with the rest of the sentence. It’s particularly useful when the hobby is a concrete noun. Here’s how to use it: 

野球の観戦が趣味です。 (Yakyū no kansen ga shumi desu.) — Watching baseball is my hobby.

料理の本を読むのが好きです。 (Ryōri no hon o yomu no ga suki desu.) — I like reading cookbooks.

As a general rule, こと is applied to verbs while の is used for nouns.

How to talk about more than one hobby

To talk about multiple hobbies, you can simply list them using the conjunction “と” (to), meaning “and.” For example:

趣味は読書とサッカーとピアノです。 (Shumi wa dokusho to sakkā to piano desu.) — My hobbies are reading, soccer and playing the piano.

You can also use the たり (tari) form to express a list of activities or hobbies. Here’s how you can apply this structure to your sentence:

趣味は本を読んだり、走ったり、音楽を聞いたりすることです。 (Shumi wa hon o yondari, hashitta ri, ongaku o kiitari suru koto desu.) — My hobbies include things like reading books, running and listening to music.

This form provides a sense of variety, indicating that these activities are just a few examples of the speaker’s hobbies. 

How to ask about someone else’s hobbies

To inquire about someone else’s hobbies, you can use the following phrases:

趣味は何ですか？ (Shumi wa nan desu ka?) — What is your hobby?

暇な時は何をするの？ (Hima na toki wa nani o suru no?) — What do you do in your free time?

何か趣味はありますか？ (Nani ka shumi wa arimasu ka?) — Do you have any hobbies?

Vocabulary for Discussing Hobbies 

Finally, here are some useful vocabulary words related to discussing hobbies:

• 上手 (jouzu) — skillful, good at
• 得意 (tokui) — specialty, something one is good at
• 好き (suki) — like, enjoy
• 楽しい (tanoshii) —fun, enjoyable
• 興味がある (kyōmi ga aru) — have an interest in
• よくする (yoku suru) — do often, practice frequently
• 続けている (tsuzuketeiru) — have been doing (for a while)

To see this vocabulary used in action, you could check out the language learning program FluentU.

 

 

Whether your idea of a nice pastime is heading out into the great wild outdoors or hunkering down in your crafts corner, you now know how to talk about all your hobbies in Japanese.