Learn how to talk about your hobbies
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| [INTRO] |
| Welcome to Can-Do Japanese by JapanesePod101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your hobbies in Japanese. |
| For example, “My hobby is fishing.” is |
| Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): しゅみは つりです。 (Shumi wa tsuri desu.) |
| Two neighbors, Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son) and Haruto Sasaki (@international-son), are having a conversation in an apartment building lobby. |
| (slight pause) |
| Before you hear their conversation, let’s preview some of its key components. |
| つり |
| "fishing" |
| つり (enunciated) |
| つり |
| しゅみ |
| "hobby" |
| しゅみ (enunciated) |
| しゅみ |
| [CONVERSATION] |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは なんですか。 (Shumi wa nan desu ka.) |
| Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): しゅみは つりです。 (Shumi wa tsuri desu.) |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは なんですか。 (Shumi wa nan desu ka.) |
| "What's your hobby?" |
| Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): しゅみは つりです。 (Shumi wa tsuri desu.) |
| "My hobby is fishing." |
| [LESSON FOCUS] |
| Let's break down the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son) asks, |
| "What's your hobby?" |
| (pause 5 seconds) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは なんですか。 (Shumi wa nan desu ka.) |
| [BREAKDOWN] |
| First is しゅみ (shumi), "hobby." しゅ-み (slow version - breakdown by syllable). しゅみ. |
| Next is the particle, は (wa), the topic-marking particle. は (slow version - breakdown by syllable). は. |
| It marks "hobby" as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for [your] hobby." |
| Together, it's しゅみは (shumi wa), "as for [your] hobby." しゅみは. |
| Note: the "your" is understood through context, as the speaker is asking the listener a direct question. |
| After this is なん (nan), "what." な-ん (slow version - breakdown by syllable). なん. |
| Next is です. In this case, it's like the "is" in "what is." で-す (slow version - breakdown by syllable). です. |
| And last is か, the question-marking particle, which turns the sentence into a question. か (slow version - breakdown by syllable). か. |
| All together, しゅみは なんですか。 literally means, "As for [your] hobby, what is?" but translates as "What's your hobby?" |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは なんですか。 (Shumi wa nan desu ka.) |
| Let's take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how the Haruto says, |
| "My hobby is fishing." |
| (pause 5 seconds) |
| Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): しゅみは つりです。 (Shumi wa tsuri desu.) |
| First is しゅみは (shumi wa), "as for [my] hobby," in this context. しゅみは. |
| Note: the "my" is understood through context, as the speaker is answering a direct question. |
| Next is つり (tsuri). "Fishing." つ-り (slow version - breakdown by syllable). つり. |
| After this is です. In this context, it's like "is" in English. です. |
| All together, しゅみは つりです。This literally means, "as for [my] hobby, fishing [it] is," but it translates as, "My hobby is fishing." |
| Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): しゅみは つりです。 (Shumi wa tsuri desu.) |
| When responding to a question or request about your hobby, you can omit the phrase, しゅみは, "as for [my] hobby," because it's clear from context you’re giving your hobby. |
| HOBBY です。 (desu.) |
| It's HOBBY. |
| HOBBY です。 (desu.) |
| This is a more natural response. You should be aware of this shortcut, but you’ll practice the full pattern for this lesson. |
| [KEY PATTERN] |
| The pattern is |
| しゅみは (Shumi wa) HOBBY です。 (desu.) |
| My hobby is HOBBY. |
| しゅみは (Shumi wa) HOBBY です。 (desu.) |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {HOBBY} placeholder with a hobby. |
| Note: this pattern requires a noun. |
| Imagine you like baseball. やきゅう (yakyū). や-きゅ-う (slow version - breakdown by syllable). やきゅう. |
| Say |
| "My hobby is baseball." |
| Ready? |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| (audio prompt followed by karaoke-style practice) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは やきゅうです。 (Shumi wa yakyū desu.) |
| "My hobby is baseball." |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは やきゅうです。 (Shumi wa yakyū desu.) |
| [CULTURAL/LINGUISTIC INSIGHT - Optional] |
| - |
| [ILLUSTRATION BY EXAMPLE] |
| Again, the key pattern is |
| しゅみは (Shumi wa) HOBBY です。 (desu.) |
| My hobby is HOBBY. |
| しゅみは (Shumi wa) HOBBY です。 (desu.) |
| Let's look at some examples. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers. |
| Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): しゅみは つりです。 (Shumi wa tsuri desu.) |
| "My hobby is fishing." |
| Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): しゅみは つりです。 (Shumi wa tsuri desu.) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは やきゅうです。 (Shumi wa yakyū desu.) |
| "My hobby is baseball." |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは やきゅうです。 (Shumi wa yakyū desu.) |
| Noriko Nagaoka (@alta-boss): しゅみは りょこうです。 (Shumi wa ryokō desu.) |
| "My hobby is traveling." |
| Noriko Nagaoka (@alta-boss): しゅみは りょこうです。 (Shumi wa ryokō desu.) |
| Ken Kobayashi (@plane-stranger): しゅみは まんがです。 (Shumi wa manga desu.) |
| "My hobby is manga." |
| Ken Kobayashi (@plane-stranger): しゅみは まんがです。 (Shumi wa manga desu.) |
| Shigeyo Ikegami (@international-great-grandmother): りょうりが すきです。 (Ryōri ga suki desu.) |
| "I like cooking." |
| Shigeyo Ikegami (@international-great-grandmother): りょうりが すきです。 (Ryōri ga suki desu.) |
| [VARIATION] |
| Did you notice how the last speaker uses a different pattern? |
| Shigeyo Ikegami (@international-great-grandmother): りょうりが すきです。 (Ryōri ga suki desu.) |
| "I like cooking." |
| First is りょうり, "cooking." りょ-う-り (slow version - breakdown by syllable). りょうり. |
| After this is が (ga), the subject-marking particle. が (slow version - breakdown by syllable). が. |
| It marks りょうり, "cooking," as the subject of the sentence. |
| Next is すき (suki), meaning, "like." す-き (slow version - breakdown by syllable). すき. |
| Note: すき is an adjective deriving from the verb すく, to like. すく. When used as an adjective, think of it as something like "nice" or "likeable," as in "Cooking is nice," but translating as "like." |
| Last is です. In this case, it's like the "is," as in "Cooking is nice." です. |
| All together, りょうりが すきです。This literally means, "Cooking is nice," but it translates as, "I like cooking." |
| Shigeyo Ikegami (@international-great-grandmother): りょうりが すきです。 (Ryōri ga suki desu.) |
| This pattern is |
| HOBBY が すきです。 (ga suki desu.) |
| I like HOBBY. |
| You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson. |
| [KEY VOCABULARY] |
| Let's review the new words. |
| やきゅう (yakyū). "Baseball." |
| や-きゅ-う(slow version - breakdown by syllable). やきゅう. |
| りょこう (ryokō). "Travelling." |
| りょ-こ-う(slow version - breakdown by syllable). りょこう. |
| まんが (manga). "Manga." |
| ま-ん-が(slow version - breakdown by syllable). まんが. |
| [REVIEW] |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after me, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say "fishing"? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| つり (tsuri). |
| (1) |
| つり (tsuri). |
| And how to say "hobby"? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| しゅみ (shumi). |
| (1) |
| しゅみ (shumi). |
| Do you remember the topic-marking particle? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| は (wa). |
| (1) |
| は (wa). |
| And do you remember how Haruto (@international-son) says |
| "My hobby is fishing." |
| (5-second pause) |
| Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): しゅみは つりです。 (Shumi wa tsuri desu.) |
| Kana as Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): しゅみは つりです。 (Shumi wa tsuri desu.) |
| Do you remember the question-marking particle? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| か (ka). |
| (1) |
| か (ka). |
| And how to say "what?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| なん (nan). |
| (1) |
| なん (nan). |
| Do you remember how Shin (@neighbor-son) asks, |
| "What's your hobby?" |
| (8-second pause) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは なんですか。 (Shumi wa nan desu ka.) |
| Kana as Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは なんですか。 (Shumi wa nan desu ka.) |
| Do you remember how to say, "baseball?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| やきゅう (yakyū). |
| (1) |
| やきゅう (yakyū). |
| And how to say "travelling?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| りょこう (ryokō). |
| (1) |
| りょこう (ryokō). |
| Do you remember how to say "manga?" |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| まんが (manga). |
| (1) |
| まんが (manga). |
| [PRACTICE] |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you're Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son), and you like baseball, or やきゅう. |
| Respond to the question. |
| Ready? |
| (pause 8 seconds) |
| Haruto Sasaki (@international-son): しゅみは なんですか。 (Shumi wa nan desu ka.) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは やきゅうです。 (Shumi wa yakyū desu.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは やきゅうです。 (Shumi wa yakyū desu.) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| (audio prompt followed by karaoke-style practice) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| Shin Ishikawa (@neighbor-son): しゅみは やきゅうです。 (Shumi wa yakyū desu.) |
| Let's try another. |
| Imagine you're Ms. Nagaoka, and you like traveling, or りょこう. |
| Ready? |
| (pause 8 seconds) |
| Megumi Sasaki (@international-mom): しゅみは なんですか。 (Shumi wa nan desu ka.) |
| Noriko Nagaoka (@alta-boss): しゅみは りょこうです。 (Shumi wa ryokō desu.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Noriko Nagaoka (@alta-boss): しゅみは りょこうです。 (Shumi wa ryokō desu.) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| (audio prompt followed by karaoke-style practice) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| Noriko Nagaoka (@alta-boss): しゅみは りょこうです。 (Shumi wa ryokō desu.) |
| Let's try one more. |
| Imagine you're Mr. Kobayashi, and you like manga, or まんが. |
| Ready? |
| (pause 8 seconds) |
| Jun Sasaki (@international-dad): しゅみは なんですか。 (Shumi wa nan desu ka.) |
| Ken Kobayashi (@plane-stranger): しゅみは まんがです。 (Shumi wa manga desu.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Ken Kobayashi (@plane-stranger): しゅみは まんがです。 (Shumi wa manga desu.) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| (audio prompt followed by karaoke-style practice) |
| (pause 1-2 seconds) |
| Ken Kobayashi (@plane-stranger): しゅみは まんがです。 (Shumi wa manga desu.) |
| [CULTURAL/LINGUISTIC INSIGHT - Optional] |
| - |
| [INT OUTRO] |
| Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About Hobbies unit of this course. |
| This is the end of this lesson. |
| Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Now you know how to talk about your hobbies in Japanese. That's all there is to it. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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