How to Talk About Your Hobbies

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Korean by KoreanClass101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your hobbies in Korean.

For example, "My hobby is fishing." is

제 취미는 낚시예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun nak-si-ye-yo.)

Two neighbors, Do-jun Jo and No-a Yu, are having a conversation in an apartment building lobby.

Before you hear their conversation, let’s preview some of its key components.

낚시 (nak-si)

"fishing"

낚시 (enunciated)

낚시

취미 (chwi-mi)

"hobby"

취미 (enunciated)

취미

Listen to the conversation.

취미가 뭐예요? (Chwi-mi-ga mwo-ye-yo?)

제 취미는 낚시예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun nak-si-ye-yo.)

Once more with the English translation.

취미가 뭐예요? (Chwi-mi-ga mwo-ye-yo?)

"What's your hobby?"

제 취미는 낚시예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun nak-si-ye-yo.)

"It's fishing."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Do-jun Jo asks,

"What's your hobby?"

취미가 뭐예요? (Chwi-mi-ga mwo-ye-yo?)

First is 취미 (chwi-mi), "hobby." 취미 (enunciated). 취미.

Next is the particle, 가 (ga), the subject-marking particle. 가 (enunciated). 가.

Note: 가(ga) follows words that end in a vowel, like 취미 (chwi-mi).

Here it marks 취미 (chwi-mi), "hobby," as the subject of the sentence.

Together, it's 취미가 (chwi-mi-ga), "your hobby." 취미가.

Note: the "your" is understood through context, as the speaker is asking the listener a direct question.

Last is 뭐예요? (mwo-ye-yo?). A polite, informal phrase meaning "what is?" 뭐예요? (mwo-ye-yo?)

First is 뭐 (mwo), "what." 뭐 (enunciated). 뭐.

Next is 예요 (ye-yo). Here, it’s like the "is" in "what is." 예요 (enunciated). 예요.

예요 (ye-yo) is from the particle 이다 (i-da), which acts like the English verb "to be." 이다.

Note: 예요 (ye-yo) follows words that end in vowels, like 뭐 (mwo).

Together, 뭐예요? (mwo-ye-yo?) "what is?" 뭐예요?

Here the question is formed by the rising intonation.

Listen again, 뭐예요? (mwo-ye-yo?)

All together, 취미가 뭐예요? (Chwi-mi-ga mwo-ye-yo?) literally means, "your hobby, what is?" but translates as "What's your hobby?"

취미가 뭐예요? (Chwi-mi-ga mwo-ye-yo? )

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how No-a Yu says,

"My hobby is fishing."

제 취미는 낚시예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun nak-si-ye-yo.)

First is 제 (je), "my." 제 (enunciated). 제.

This is the shortened form of 저 (jeo), the humble word for "I," and 의 (ui), meaning "of." Together it's 저의(jeo-ui), "my," 저의. This is shortened to 제 (je).

Next is 취미 (chwi-mi), "hobby." 취미.

Together, 제 취미 (Je chwi-mi). "My hobby." 제 취미.

Next is the particle 는(neun), the topic marking particle. 는 (enunciated). 는.

Here, 는 (neun) indicates that "My hobby" is the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for..." in the expression "as for My hobby,..."

Note: there are two forms of the topic-marking particle. 는 follows words that end in a vowel, such as 취미 (chwi-mi).

Next is 낚시 (nak-si). "Fishing." 낚시 (enunciated). 낚시.

Last is 예요 (ye-yo), in this case, it’s like the "is" in "it is." 예요 (enunciated). 예요.

예요 (ye-yo) is from the particle 이다 (i-da), meaning "to be." 이다.

Note: there are two forms of the polite spoken form of the particle 이다 (i-da). 예요 follows words that end in a vowel, like 낚시 (nak-si).

All together, 제 취미는 낚시예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun nak-si-ye-yo.) This literally means, "My hobby fishing it is," but it translates as, "My hobby is fishing."

제 취미는 낚시예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun nak-si-ye-yo.)

Note that when answering this question, you can shorten your response to just your hobby, for example, 낚시예요. (Nak-si-ye-yo) "It’s fishing."

It’s perfectly acceptable to omit 제 취미는, "As for my hobby…" and only answer with your hobby.

You should be aware of this shortened pattern, but for this lesson, we’ll use the extended pattern.

The pattern is

제 취미는 HOBBY 예요/이에요. (Je chwi-mi-neun HOBBY ye-yo/i-e-yo.)

My hobby is HOBBY.

제 취미는 HOBBY 예요/이에요. (Je chwi-mi-neun HOBBY ye-yo/i-e-yo.)

To use this pattern, simply replace the {HOBBY} placeholder with a hobby.

Imagine you like baseball. 야구 (ya-gu). 야구 (enunciated). 야구.

Say

"My hobby is baseball."

Ready?

제 취미는 야구예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun ya-gu-ye-yo.)

"My hobby is baseball."

제 취미는 야구예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun ya-gu-ye-yo.)

There are two informal polite forms of the particle 이다(i-da), meaning "to be."

예요 (ye-yo) follows words that end in a vowel, such as 낚시 (nak-si).

이에요 (i-e-yo) follows words that end in a consonant, such as 수영 (su-yeong) which means "swimming."

For example,

수영이에요. (Su-yeong-i-e-yo.)

"Swimming."

Again, the key pattern is

제 취미는 HOBBY 예요/이에요. (Je chwi-mi-neun HOBBY ye-yo/i-e-yo.)

My hobby is HOBBY.

제 취미는 HOBBY 예요/이에요. (Je chwi-mi-neun HOBBY ye-yo/i-e-yo.)

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

제 취미는 낚시예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun nak-si-ye-yo.)

"My hobby is fishing."

제 취미는 낚시예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun nak-si-ye-yo.)

제 취미는 야구예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun ya-gu-ye-yo.)

"My hobby is baseball."

제 취미는 야구예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun ya-gu-ye-yo.)

제 취미는 여행이에요. (Je chwi-mi-neun yeo-haeng-i-e-yo.)

"My hobby is traveling."

제 취미는 여행이에요. (Je chwi-mi-neun yeo-haeng-i-e-yo.)

제 취미는 수영이에요. (Je chwi-mi-neun su-yeong-i-e-yo.)

"My hobby is swimming."

제 취미는 수영이에요. (Je chwi-mi-neun su-yeong-i-e-yo.)

저는 독서를 좋아해요. (Jeo-neun dok-seo-reul jo-a-hae-yo.)

"I like reading."

저는 독서를 좋아해요. (Jeo-neun dok-seo-reul jo-a-hae-yo.)

Did you notice how the last speaker used a different pattern?

저는 독서를 좋아해요. (Jeo-neun dok-seo-reul jo-a-hae-yo.)

"I like reading."

First is 저 (jeo), meaning "I." 저 (enunciated). 저.

This is the humble word for "I."

Next is 는 (neun), the topic-marking particle. 는.

It marks "I" as the topic of the sentence. Think of it like "as for" in the expression "as for me…."

Together, it’s 저는 (jeo-neun). "As for me...." 저는.

Next is 독서를 (dok-seo-reul), "reading." 독서를.

This starts with 독서 (dok-seo), "reading." 독서 (enunciated). 독서.

Next is 를 (reul), the object-marking particle. 를 (enunciated). 를.

Note: 를 follows words that end in a vowel, such as 독서 (dok-seo).

In this sentence, 를 marks 독서 (dok-seo), "reading," as the object of the sentence. Think of it as marking the thing, reading, being talked about.

Last is 좋아해요 (jo-a-hae-yo), "like." 좋아해요 (enunciated). 좋아해요.

좋아해 (jo-a-hae) is from the verb 좋아하다 (jo-a-ha-da), meaning "to like." 좋아하다.

Last is 요(yo), the polite sentence-ending particle. 요 (enunciated). 요.

Together, it’s 좋아해요 (jo-a-hae-yo), "like." 좋아해요.

All together it’s 저는 독서를 좋아해요. (Jeo-neun dok-seo-reul jo-a-hae-yo.) It literally means "As for me, reading, like", but translates as "I like reading."

저는 독서를 좋아해요. (Jeo-neun dok-seo-reul geo jo-a-hae-yo.)

저는 HOBBY을/를 좋아해요. (Jeo-neun HOBBY eul/reul jo-a-hae-yo.)

"I like HOBBY."

를 follows words that end in a vowel, as in 독서 (dok-seo), while,

을 follows words that end in a consonant.

You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Let’s review the new words.

야구 (ya-gu). "Baseball."

야구 (enunciated). 야구.

여행 (yeo-haeng). "Travelling."

여행(enunciated). 여행.

수영 (su-yeong). "Swimming."

수영 (enunciated). 수영.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "fishing"?

낚시 (nak-si).

And how to say "hobby?"

취미 (chwi-mi)

Do you remember how to say, "my hobby?"

제 취미 (Je chwi-mi)

And how to say

"As for my hobby."

제 취미는 (Je chwi-mi-neun)

Do you remember how No-a Yu says,

"My hobby is fishing."

제 취미는 낚시예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun nak-si-ye-yo.)

Do you remember how to say "what?"

뭐? (mwo?)

And how to say "hobby"?

취미 (chwi-mi).

Do you remember the subject-marking particle that follows words ending in vowels?

가 (ga).

Do you remember how Do-jun Jo says,

"What's your hobby?"

취미가 뭐예요? (Chwi-mi-ga mwo-ye-yo? )

Do you remember how to say, "baseball?"

야구 (ya-gu).

And how to say "traveling?"

여행 (yeo-haeng).

Do you remember how to say "swimming?"

수영 (su-yeong).

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Do-jun Jo, and you like baseball, 야구(ya-gu).

Respond to the question.

Ready?

취미가 뭐예요? (Chwi-mi-ga mwo-ye-yo? )

제 취미는 야구예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun ya-gu-ye-yo.)

Listen again and repeat.

제 취미는 야구예요. (Je chwi-mi-neun ya-gu-ye-yo.)

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Ji-yeong Ju, and you like traveling, 여행 (yeo-haeng).

Ready?

취미가 뭐예요? (Chwi-mi-ga mwo-ye-yo? )

제 취미는 여행이에요. (Je chwi-mi-neun yeo-haeng-i-e-yo.)

Listen again and repeat.

제 취미는 여행이에요. (Je chwi-mi-neun yeo-haeng-i-e-yo.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Sang-hun Song, and you like swimming, 수영 (su-yeong).

Ready?

취미가 뭐예요? (Chwi-mi-ga mwo-ye-yo? )

제 취미는 수영이에요. (Je chwi-mi-neun su-yeong-i-e-yo.)

Listen again and repeat.

제 취미는 수영이에요. (Je chwi-mi-neun su-yeong-i-e-yo.)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About Hobbies unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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