Hobbies

Korean Basic Conversation 2

Chapter 2 · Hobbies & Free Time

🎤 Hobbies & Free Time — 취미와 여가

After the daily routine in Korean Basic Conversation 2, Chapter 1, comes the fun part: what you do when you are not working. This chapter teaches you to say what you like, how often you do it and how good you are at it. You will meet the words that make Korean free time what it is: 노래방, PC방, 등산 and 사극. Revised Romanization is still under every dialog line (until Chapter 5).

eo = ㅓ (short, open "uh") eu = ㅡ (unrounded "oo") kk, jj, ss = tense (tight, unaspirated) consonants [ ] = how the word is actually said, where it differs from the spelling

① What's Your Hobby? — 취미가 뭐예요?

A: 취미가 뭐예요? Chwimiga mwoyeyo? What's your hobby?

B: 영화 감상이에요. 영화를 아주 좋아해요. Yeonghwa gamsangieyo. Yeonghwareul aju joahaeyo. Watching films. I like films a lot.

A: 어떤 영화를 좋아해요? Eotteon yeonghwareul joahaeyo? What kind of films do you like?

B: 한국 영화를 자주 봐요. Hanguk yeonghwareul jaju bwayo. I often watch Korean films.

② Sport — 운동 자주 해요?

A: 운동 자주 해요? Undong jaju haeyo? Do you exercise often?

B: 네, 일주일에 두 번 수영해요. Ne, iljuire du beon suyeonghaeyo. Yes, I swim twice a week.

A: 수영 잘해요? Suyeong jalhaeyo? Are you good at swimming?

B: 아니요, 잘 못해요. 그냥 좋아해요. Aniyo, jal motaeyo. Geunyang joahaeyo. No, I'm not good at it. I just like it.

③ Karaoke — 노래방에 자주 가요

A: 노래 좋아해요? Norae joahaeyo? Do you like singing?

B: 네, 노래방에 자주 가요. Ne, noraebange jaju gayo. Yes, I often go to karaoke.

A: 무슨 노래를 불러요? Museun noraereul bulleoyo? What songs do you sing?

B: 케이팝을 불러요. 그런데 노래는 잘 못해요! Keipabeul bulleoyo. Geureonde noraeneun jal motaeyo! K-pop. But I'm not good at singing!

④ At Home — 주말에 뭐 해요?

A: 주말에 보통 뭐 해요? Jumare botong mwo haeyo? What do you usually do at the weekend?

B: 집에서 게임을 해요. Jibeseo geimeul haeyo. I play games at home.

A: 무슨 게임이요? Museun geimiyo? What kind of game?

B: 컴퓨터 게임이요. 가끔 PC방에도 가요. Keompyuteo geimiyo. Gakkeum pisibangedo gayo. Computer games. Sometimes I go to a PC bang too.

⑤ Cooking — 요리 좋아해요?

A: 요리 좋아해요? Yori joahaeyo? Do you like cooking?

B: 네, 주말에 가끔 요리해요. Ne, jumare gakkeum yorihaeyo. Yes, I sometimes cook at the weekend.

A: 뭘 만들어요? Mwol mandeureoyo? What do you make?

B: 김치찌개를 자주 만들어요. 아주 맛있어요! Gimchijjigaereul jaju mandeureoyo. Aju masisseoyo! I often make kimchi stew. It's delicious!

⑥ Two Friends (casual) — 요즘 뭐 해?

A: 너 요즘 뭐 해? Neo yojeum mwo hae? What are you up to these days?

B: 요즘 사극 봐. 진짜 재미있어! Yojeum sageuk bwa. Jinjja jaemiisseo! I'm watching a historical drama. It's really good!

A: 정말? 제목이 뭐야? Jeongmal? Jemogi mwoya? Really? What's it called?

B: 「미스터 선샤인」이야. 꼭 봐! Miseuteo Syainiya. Kkok bwa! It's "Mr. Sunshine". You have to watch it!

🗝️ Key Phrases — 중요한 표현

Situation	Polite	Casual
What's your hobby?	취미가 뭐예요? chwimiga mwoyeyo?	취미가 뭐야? chwimiga mwoya?
What do you like?	뭘 좋아해요? mwol joahaeyo?	뭘 좋아해? mwol joahae?
I like … a lot.	…을/를 아주 좋아해요. …eul/reul aju joahaeyo.	…을/를 엄청 좋아해. …eul/reul eomcheong joahae.
What are you doing these days?	요즘 뭐 해요? yojeum mwo haeyo?	요즘 뭐 해? yojeum mwo hae?
I'm not good at it.	잘 못해요. jal motaeyo.	잘 못해. jal motae.
Me too!	저도요! jeodoyo!	나도! nado!

🔤 Three Verbs for Free Time — 동사

Verb	Everyday polite (-요)	Formal (-ㅂ니다)	Casual
to like (좋아하다)	좋아해요 joahaeyo	좋아합니다 joahamnida	좋아해 joahae
to read (읽다)	읽어요 ilgeoyo	읽습니다 ikseumnida	읽어 ilgeo
to listen (듣다)	들어요 deureoyo	듣습니다 deutseumnida	들어 deureo

듣다 is a "ㄷ-irregular" verb: before a vowel the final ㄷ turns into ㄹ (들어요, not 듣어요). Before a consonant it stays (듣습니다). Just learn 음악을 들어요 ("I listen to music") as it comes.

🧱 Four Tools for Talking About Hobbies

1. Say what you like — 을/를 좋아해요

좋아하다 ("to like") is an action verb, so the thing you like takes the object particle 을/를 (을 after a final consonant, 를 after a vowel): 영화를 좋아해요, 음악을 좋아해요. In conversation the particle is often dropped: 노래 좋아해요? The opposite is 싫어하다: 운동을 싫어해요 ("I dislike exercise"). Add 아주 ("very") or 정말 ("really") before the verb to turn up the volume.

2. Hobby nouns + 해요

Many hobbies are a noun followed by 하다 ("to do"): 운동해요 (exercise), 수영해요 (swim), 요리해요 (cook), 등산해요 (hike), 산책해요 (go for a walk). The noun can also stand on its own as the answer to 취미가 뭐예요?: 취미는 등산이에요 ("My hobby is hiking"). For things that are not "done", use the verb that fits: 영화를 봐요, 책을 읽어요, 음악을 들어요, 사진을 찍어요 (take photos), 노래를 불러요 (sing a song).

3. How often? — 번 and 마다

A frequency has the shape period + 에 + number + 번. 번 means "time(s)" and takes native Korean numbers (Korean Grammar 1, chapter 9): 일주일에 한 번 (once a week), 일주일에 두 번 (twice a week), 한 달에 세 번 (three times a month), 하루에 한 번 (once a day). The particle 마다 means "every": 주말마다 (every weekend), 매일 (every day) and 매주 (every week).

English	Korean	Say it
once a week	일주일에 한 번	il-ju-i-re han beon
twice a month	한 달에 두 번	han da-re du beon
every weekend	주말마다	ju-mal-ma-da
every day	매일	mae-il
once in a while	가끔	ga-kkeum

4. How good are you? — 잘 and 잘 못

잘 means "well": 수영을 잘해요 ("I swim well"). To say you are not good at something, put 잘 못 in front of the verb: 노래를 잘 못해요. Pronounce 못해요 as "mo-tae-yo". The word 못 itself ("cannot") returns in Chapter 9.

무슨 or 어떤? — "what kind of?"

Both open a question about type. 무슨 asks "what sort of" in general (무슨 노래를 불러요?), 어떤 asks "which kind" and often fishes for a description (어떤 영화를 좋아해요?). For now treat them as interchangeable in questions about hobbies.

Hobby words — 취미

English	Korean	Say it
watching films	영화 감상	yeong-hwa gam-sang
listening to music	음악 감상	eu-mak gam-sang
reading	독서	dok-seo
hiking	등산	deung-san
cycling	자전거	ja-jeon-geo
football	축구	chuk-gu
shopping	쇼핑	syo-ping
photography	사진	sa-jin

📖 Vocabulary — 어휘

#	Korean	Say it	English	Type
1	취미	chwi-mi	hobby	noun
2	영화	yeong-hwa	film; movie	noun
3	음악	eu-mak	music	noun
4	노래	no-rae	song; singing	noun
5	노래방	no-rae-bang	karaoke room	noun
6	책	chaek	book	noun
7	사진	sa-jin	photo	noun
8	여행	yeo-haeng	travel; trip	noun
9	산책	san-chaek	walk; stroll	noun
10	등산	deung-san	hiking; mountain climbing	noun
11	수영	su-yeong	swimming	noun
12	요리	yo-ri	cooking	noun
13	게임	ge-im	game	noun
14	번	beon	time(s) (counter)	counter
15	요즘	yo-jeum	these days	adverb
16	아주	a-ju	very; a lot	adverb
17	잘	jal	well	adverb
18	좋아하다	jo-a-ha-da	to like	verb
19	싫어하다	si-reo-ha-da	to dislike	verb
20	재미있다	jae-mi-it-tta	to be fun; interesting	adjective

노래방: Your Own Karaoke Room A Korean 노래방 is not a karaoke night in a pub. A group rents a small private room by the hour, with a screen, two microphones and a tambourine, and sings among friends and colleagues. Singing badly is part of the fun, so 노래를 잘 못해요 is not an excuse to stay at home.

PC방 and Hiking A PC방 ("PC room") is an internet café for gaming, usually with food and drinks you order from your seat. 등산 is one of the most popular pastimes in Korea; hikers in full gear on a weekend trail are a familiar sight. Both are good answers to 취미가 뭐예요?

좋아요 vs 좋아해요 영화를 좋아해요 means "I like films" (the person who likes is the subject). 영화가 좋아요 means "films are good / I like films" and sounds like a feeling about the thing itself. Both are normal; start with 을/를 좋아해요 for hobbies, and see Korean Grammar 1, chapters 3 and 4 for the particles.

As Heard in Dramas — 드라마에서 사극 means a historical drama (set in the Joseon era or earlier), the genre of dialog 6. Fans of anything call themselves by a word that is easy to recognise: 저 이 배우 팬이에요 ("I'm a fan of this actor"). In casual speech you will also hear 덕질 for enthusiastic fandom and 덕후 for a devoted fan. Also listen for 진짜 ("really"), which is everywhere, as in 진짜 재미있어!

Grammar Pointer The object particle 을/를 and the topic particle 은/는 are in Korean Grammar 1, chapters 3 and 4; native numbers for 번 are in Korean Grammar 1, chapter 9. The routine words (보통, 가끔, 자주) from Korean Basic Conversation 2, Chapter 1 combine freely with everything here: 가끔 노래방에 가요. Next, Korean Basic Conversation 2, Chapter 3 turns hobbies into plans: 같이 노래방에 갈래요?

✍️ Try It Yourself — 연습

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Say "My hobby is hiking."

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취미는 등산이에요.

2. Say "I like K-pop a lot."

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케이팝을 아주 좋아해요.

3. Say "I swim twice a week."

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일주일에 두 번 수영해요.

4. Ask politely what kind of films someone likes.

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어떤 영화를 좋아해요?

5. Say "I'm not good at singing, but I go to karaoke often."

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노래를 잘 못해요. 그런데 노래방에 자주 가요.

6. Ask a friend casually what they are doing these days.

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요즘 뭐 해? (polite: 요즘 뭐 해요?)