Free Time vocabulary for talking about hobbies, activities, and interests in English.
In this chapter, you’ll learn key vocabulary for talking about free time, hobbies, and leisure activities in English. You’ll be able to describe what you do when you relax, make plans with friends, and talk about your favorite pastimes.
Hobbies
Hobbies are activities people do for fun in their free time. Here are some common hobbies and example sentences.
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Example | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| painting | paintings | la pintura | las pinturas | She enjoys painting landscapes. | Ella disfruta pintar paisajes. |
| reading | readings | la lectura | las lecturas | He spends hours reading books. | Él pasa horas leyendo libros. |
| gardening | gardenings | la jardinería | las jardinerías | My grandmother loves gardening. | A mi abuela le encanta la jardinería. |
| knitting | knittings | el tejido | los tejidos | She is knitting a scarf. | Ella está tejiendo una bufanda. |
| cooking | cookings | la cocina | las cocinas | I like cooking Italian food. | Me gusta cocinar comida italiana. |
| hiking | hikings | el senderismo | los senderismos | We go hiking on weekends. | Vamos de senderismo los fines de semana. |
| photography | photographies | la fotografía | las fotografías | He practices photography as a hobby. | Él practica fotografía como pasatiempo. |
| playing an instrument | playing instruments | tocar un instrumento | tocar instrumentos | She is playing the guitar. | Ella está tocando la guitarra. |
| writing | writings | la escritura | las escrituras | I enjoy writing short stories. | Me gusta escribir cuentos cortos. |
| dancing | dancings | el baile | los bailes | They are taking dancing classes. | Ellos están tomando clases de baile. |
Leisure Activities
Leisure activities are things people do to relax and have fun. Here are some common ones.
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Example | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| watching TV | watching TVs | ver la televisión | ver las televisiones | We are watching TV tonight. | Vamos a ver la televisión esta noche. |
| listening to music | listening to musics | escuchar música | escuchar músicas | I love listening to music while working. | Me encanta escuchar música mientras trabajo. |
| playing games | playing games | jugar juegos | jugar juegos | The kids are playing games outside. | Los niños están jugando afuera. |
| going out | goings out | salir | salidas | Let’s go out for dinner. | Salgamos a cenar. |
| shopping | shoppings | ir de compras | ir de compras | She enjoys shopping on weekends. | A ella le gusta ir de compras los fines de semana. |
| surfing the internet | surfing the internets | navegar por internet | navegar por internet | He spends hours surfing the internet. | Él pasa horas navegando por internet. |
| relaxing | relaxings | relajarse | relajaciones | I like relaxing after work. | Me gusta relajarme después del trabajo. |
| taking a walk | taking walks | dar un paseo | dar paseos | Let’s take a walk in the park. | Vamos a dar un paseo por el parque. |
| meeting friends | meeting friends | reunirse con amigos | reunirse con amigos | She is meeting friends tonight. | Ella se va a reunir con amigos esta noche. |
| going to the movies | goings to the movies | ir al cine | ir a los cines | We are going to the movies tomorrow. | Vamos al cine mañana. |
Después del trabajo, me gusta ___.
Which activity means spending time quietly, often resting or doing nothing?
relaxing
Relaxing means resting or doing quiet activities to unwind. The Spanish sentence means 'After work, I like ___.', with 'relaxing' being the appropriate choice.
Sports & Fitness
Sports and fitness activities are common ways to spend free time while staying healthy.
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Example | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| soccer | soccer | el fútbol | los fútboles | They play soccer every Saturday. | Juegan al fútbol todos los sábados. |
| basketball | basketballs | el baloncesto | los baloncestos | She loves playing basketball. | A ella le encanta jugar al baloncesto. |
| swimming | swimmings | la natación | las nataciones | He goes swimming at the gym. | Él va a nadar al gimnasio. |
| running | runnings | correr | corrers | I go running every morning. | Corro todas las mañanas. |
| yoga | yogas | el yoga | los yogas | Yoga helps me relax. | El yoga me ayuda a relajarme. |
| cycling | cyclings | el ciclismo | los ciclismos | We go cycling on Sundays. | Vamos en bicicleta los domingos. |
| tennis | tennises | el tenis | los tenises | She plays tennis with her sister. | Ella juega tenis con su hermana. |
| gym | gyms | el gimnasio | los gimnasios | I go to the gym after work. | Voy al gimnasio después del trabajo. |
| pilates | pilates | el pilates | los pilates | Pilates improves my posture. | El pilates mejora mi postura. |
| hiking | hikings | el senderismo | los senderismos | Hiking is a great workout. | El senderismo es un gran ejercicio. |
Creative Activities
Creative activities allow people to express themselves and make something new.
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Example | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| drawing | drawings | dibujar | dibujos | She is drawing a portrait. | Ella está dibujando un retrato. |
| crafting | craftings | manualidades | manualidades | We did some crafting yesterday. | Hicimos manualidades ayer. |
| writing | writings | escribir | escrituras | He is writing a poem. | Él está escribiendo un poema. |
| painting | paintings | pintar | pinturas | I enjoy painting in my free time. | Disfruto pintar en mi tiempo libre. |
| sewing | sewings | coser | cosas | She is sewing a dress. | Ella está cosiendo un vestido. |
| baking | bakings | hornear | horneados | I spent the afternoon baking cookies. | Pasé la tarde horneando galletas. |
| photography | photographies | la fotografía | las fotografías | Photography is a popular hobby. | La fotografía es un pasatiempo popular. |
| music | musics | la música | las músicas | He is learning music theory. | Él está aprendiendo teoría musical. |
| acting | actings | actuar | actuaciones | She is acting in a play. | Ella está actuando en una obra. |
| designing | designings | diseñar | diseños | He is designing a new logo. | Él está diseñando un nuevo logo. |
Social Activities
Social activities involve spending time with others and building relationships.
| Singular | Plural | Singular | Plural | Example | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| party | parties | la fiesta | las fiestas | We are going to a party tonight. | Vamos a una fiesta esta noche. |
| dinner | dinners | la cena | las cenas | They invited us to dinner. | Nos invitaron a cenar. |
| meeting | meetings | la reunión | las reuniones | I have a meeting with friends. | Tengo una reunión con amigos. |
| chat | chats | la charla | las charlas | Let’s have a chat after class. | Tengamos una charla después de clase. |
| outing | outings | la salida | las salidas | We planned an outing to the beach. | Planeamos una salida a la playa. |
| celebration | celebrations | la celebración | las celebraciones | There was a celebration at work. | Hubo una celebración en el trabajo. |
| gathering | gatherings | la reunión | las reuniones | Family gatherings are special. | Las reuniones familiares son especiales. |
| date | dates | la cita | las citas | They have a date tonight. | Tienen una cita esta noche. |
| barbecue | barbecues | la barbacoa | las barbacoas | We had a barbecue in the backyard. | Tuvimos una barbacoa en el patio trasero. |
| picnic | picnics | el picnic | los picnics | Let’s have a picnic in the park. | Hagamos un picnic en el parque. |
Now you’re ready to talk about your free time in English! Keep practicing and have fun.
Vamos a una ___ esta noche.
Which social event involves people gathering to celebrate, often with music and dancing?
party
A party is a social event for celebrating, often with music and dancing. The Spanish sentence means 'We are going to a ___ tonight,' and 'party' completes it correctly.
Last updated: Thu Jun 12, 2025
