Basic words and phrases in French: Free time, hobbies and interests
Whether you’re talking with a friend or filling out a questionnaire, it’s always good to have some vocabulary to describe your hobbies and interests in French. From playing sports to cooking to reading, there are plenty of pastimes and leisure activities to explore in the French language.
In this vocabulary list, we’ll cover some of the most common hobbies and interests, along with the corresponding French words.
English-French Vocabulary List:
- reading: la lecture
- watching movies: regarder des films
- listening to music: écouter de la musique
- playing sports: faire du sport
- dancing: danser
- painting: peindre
- drawing: dessiner
- playing musical instruments: jouer d’un instrument de musique
- photography: la photographie
- writing: l’écriture
- playing video games: jouer à des jeux vidéo
- cooking: cuisiner
- baking: faire de la pâtisserie
- gardening: jardiner
- hiking: faire de la randonnée
- traveling: voyager
- learning languages: apprendre des langues
- watching TV: regarder la télévision
- going to concerts: aller à des concerts
- going to the theater: aller au théâtre
- shopping: faire du shopping
- going to the beach: aller à la plage
- playing board games: jouer à des jeux de société
- camping: camper
- fishing: pêcher
- collecting: collectionner
- knitting: tricoter
- sewing: coudre
- woodwork: travailler le bois
- metalwork: travailler le métal
Note that many of these words are verbs in French, so if you want to use them to describe what you’re doing, you’ll need to conjugate them accordingly.