¡Me gusta! — Sports and Hobbies in Spanish

Think about your favourite thing to do after school. Is it kicking a ball, drawing, swimming, or something else? Now imagine you have a new friend in Spain. They ask you: '¿Qué te gusta hacer?' That means 'What do you like to do?' Could you answer in Spanish? By the end of this lesson, you will be able to!

In Spanish, the word for a sport or hobby is 'un deporte o un pasatiempo'. Let's learn some key words first. Here are six sports in Spanish: • el fútbol — football • la natación — swimming • el baloncesto — basketball • el ciclismo — cycling • el tenis — tennis • el atletismo — athletics And here are five hobbies: • la música — music • el dibujo — drawing • la lectura — reading • los videojuegos — video games • bailar — dancing Now you know the words, you need to say whether you like them. In Spanish you use two short phrases: • Me gusta — I like (it) • No me gusta — I do not like (it) You put the name of the sport or hobby after the phrase. For example: 'Me gusta el fútbol' means 'I like football.' 'No me gusta la natación' means 'I do not like swimming.' Notice that some words use 'el' (for masculine nouns) and some use 'la' (for feminine nouns). In Spanish, every noun has a gender — either masculine or feminine. You just learn it with the word, like a pair. Worked example coming up — look carefully at how the sentence is built!