Day 8: What's your hobby?

Script

Mei: Tanaka-san, shumi wa nan desu ka?
田中さん、趣味は何ですか。

Tanaka: Boku no shumi wa shashin o toru koto desu. Mei-san wa?
僕の趣味は写真を撮ることです。メイさんは？

Mei: Watashi wa ryouri o suru no ga suki desu.
私は料理をするのが好きです。

Tanaka: Hontou? Donna ryouri o tsukurimasu ka?
本当？どんな料理を作りますか。

Mei: Iroiro na ryouri o tsukurimasu ga, ichiban sukina no wa itariaryouri desu.
いろいろな料理を作りますが、一番好きなのはイタリア料理です。

Tanaka: Sugoi desu ne. Itsu ka mei-san no ryouri o tabete mitai desu.
すごいですね。いつかメイさんの料理を食べてみたいです。

Translation

Mei: Tanaka-san, what are your hobbies?

Tanaka: My hobby is taking photographs. How about you, Mei-san?

Mei: I like cooking.

Tanaka: Really? What kind of food do you cook?

Mei: I cook various kinds of food, but my favorite is Italian cuisine.

Tanaka: That's amazing. I'd like to try your cooking sometime.

Vocabulary

• shumi 趣味 - hobby
• nan 何 - what
• boku 僕 - I (casual, usually used by males)
• shashin 写真 - photograph
• toru 撮る - to take (a photo)
• koto こと - thing, matter
• ryouri 料理 - cooking, cuisine
• suru する - to do
• no ga suki のが好き - to like doing something
• hontou 本当 - really
• donna どんな - what kind of
• tsukurimasu 作ります - to make, to cook
• iroiro na いろいろな - various
• ichiban 一番 - the most
• sukina 好きな - favorite, liked
• itariaryouri イタリア料理 - Italian cuisine
• sugoi すごい - amazing
• itsu ka いつか - sometime
• tabete mitai 食べてみたい - would like to try eating

Grammar Notes

1. Expressing Hobbies

To express your hobby in Japanese, use the pattern:

[Noun] + ga shumi desu が趣味です

Example: Shashin ga shumi desu 写真が趣味です (Photography is my hobby)

2. Nominalization with koto

To turn a verb into a noun (gerund), add koto こと after the dictionary form of the verb.

Pattern: [Verb (dictionary form)] + koto

Example: Shashin o toru koto 写真を撮ること (taking photographs)

3. Expressing Likes with no ga suki

To express that you like doing something, use the pattern:

[Verb (dictionary form)] + no ga suki desu のが好きです

Example: Ryouri o suru no ga suki desu 料理をするのが好きです (I like cooking)

4. Asking "What kind of...?"

Use donna どんな to ask "What kind of...?"

Example: Donna ryouri o tsukurimasu ka? どんな料理を作りますか。(What kind of food do you cook?)

5. Expressing the Most/Best with ichiban

Use ichiban 一番 before an adjective to express the superlative (most/best).

Example: Ichiban sukina 一番好きな (the most favorite)

6. Expressing Desire with ~tai

To express a desire to do something, add ~tai たい to the stem of the verb.

Pattern: [Verb stem] + tai

Example: Tabete mitai 食べてみたい (would like to try eating)

Note: Tabete miru 食べてみる means "to try eating", and mitai みたい is the tai-form of miru 見る (to see/try).

7. Using ga for Contrast

The particle ga が is often used to connect two clauses with a slight contrast or to add information.

Example: Iroiro na ryouri o tsukurimasu ga, ... いろいろな料理を作りますが、... (I cook various kinds of food, but ...)

Remember to practice these expressions to become more comfortable talking about hobbies and preferences in Japanese!