Hobbies & Free Time

Hobbys und Freizeit

"What do you do in your free time?" is another near-guaranteed small-talk and exam question. Today introduces gern - a small word that does the job of English "like to" and shows up constantly once you start noticing it.

gern: "like to [verb]"

Unlike English, German doesn't have a separate verb "to like [doing]" - it just adds the word gern after a normal conjugated verb:

Ich lese gern. (I like to read - literally "I read gladly.")
Ich koche gern. (I like to cook.)
Ich spiele nicht gern Fußball. (I don't like to play soccer.)

Notice nicht gern for "don't like to" - this reuses nicht from Lesson 13, since you're negating an adverb (gern), not a noun.

Common hobby verbs and nouns

Asking someone else

Was machst du gern? (What do you like to do?)
Machst du gern Sport? (Do you like doing sports?)

Comparing preference: lieber and am liebsten

To say you prefer one thing over another, swap gern for lieber (rather/prefer); for the strongest preference, use am liebsten (like best of all):

Ich lese gern, aber ich schwimme lieber. (I like to read, but I prefer swimming.)
Am liebsten koche ich. (Cooking is what I like doing most.)

Quick recall check

Primary source

Vocabulary and the gern-construction cross-checked against the "Freizeit" topic in the official Goethe-Zertifikat A1 Wortliste.

Want to describe your actual hobbies in more detail? Ask your teaching agent for the exact vocabulary you need.