Hobbies & Entertainment

趣味しゅみは何なんですか。読書どくしょと音楽おんがくが好きすきです。

What are your hobbies? I like reading and music.

Usage 趣味は何ですか is a standard question when meeting someone new in Japan, so have an answer ready. 趣味 also means taste: 趣味がいい = to have good taste.

Remember it 趣 (a leaning, an interest) + 味 (flavour). The flavour you lean toward.

毎日まいにちスポーツをして体からだを鍛えてきたえています。

I play sport every day to build up my body.

Usage スポーツをする is the general verb; individual sports vary — サッカーをする but 水泳をする and スキーに行く. 鍛える (きたえる) = to train or forge.

Remember it From English 'sports', kept plural. The native 運動 covers exercise more broadly.

彼女かのじょは音楽おんがくが得意とくいで、毎日まいにちピアノを弾いてひいています。

She's good at music and plays the piano every day.

Usage Instruments take specific verbs: ピアノを弾く (strings and keys), トランペットを吹く (wind), 太鼓を叩く (drums). Never 遊ぶ, as English 'play' might suggest.

Remember it 音 (sound) + 楽 (pleasure, comfort). Sound made pleasurable.

週末しゅうまつに友達ともだちと映画えいがを見みに行きいきました。

I went to see a film with a friend at the weekend.

Usage 映画を見る, never 読む or 聞く. 映画館 = cinema, 邦画 (ほうが) = a Japanese film, 洋画 (ようが) = a Western one.

Remember it 映 (to project, to reflect) + 画 (a picture). Projected pictures.

読書どくしょは知識ちしきを広げるひろげる良いよい習慣しゅうかんです。

Reading is a good habit for broadening your knowledge.

Usage 読書 is reading as a pastime, so 読書する means to read books, not to read a sign. 読書の秋 (autumn, the season for reading) is a set seasonal phrase.

Remember it 読 (to read) + 書 (writing, books). Reading the written.

子供こどもたちはゲームをするのが大好きだいすきです。

The children love playing games.

Usage ゲームをする covers video games and board games alike. ゲームセンター is a Japanese arcade — not, as English might suggest, a shop selling games.

Remember it From English 'game', three mora: げ-え-む.

妹いもうとのピアノの演奏えんそうに思おもわず拍手はくしゅしました。

I couldn't help applauding my sister's piano performance.

Usage 演奏 is specifically instrumental performance — singing is 歌う and acting is 演じる. 演奏会 (えんそうかい) = a concert.

Remember it 演 (to perform) + 奏 (to play music). Performing by playing.

母ははは料理りょうりが上手じょうずで、毎晩まいばんおいしいご飯ごはんを作ってつくってくれます。

My mother is a good cook and makes delicious food every night.

Usage 料理 is both the activity and the dish itself: 日本料理 = Japanese cuisine. 料理をする or 料理を作る both work. 手料理 = home cooking.

Remember it 料 (materials) + 理 (to arrange). Arranging ingredients.

この作品さくひんは十年じゅうねんかけて完成かんせいしたそうです。

They say this work took ten years to complete.

Usage 作品 covers paintings, books, films and music alike — anything created. 代表作 (だいひょうさく) = a representative work.

Remember it 作 (to make) + 品 (an article). A made thing — the same 品 as 商品 and 品質.

彼かれは趣味しゅみで絵えを描いてかいていて、展覧会てんらんかいに出品しゅっぴんしました。

He paints as a hobby and entered a piece in an exhibition.

Usage 絵を描く uses 描く (to draw or paint), not 書く (to write) — both read かく, and this is a very common writing mistake.

Remember it 絵 = 糸 (thread) + 会. Pictures were once woven as much as painted.

彼女かのじょは歌うたが上手じょうずで、コンサートで歌ったうたった。

She sings well and performed at a concert.

Usage 歌を歌う — noun and verb share the kanji, and the repetition is perfectly natural in Japanese. 歌手 (かしゅ) = a singer, 演歌 (えんか) = the classic ballad genre.

Remember it 歌 = 哥 (to sing) + 欠 (an open mouth). A mouth wide open.

彼女かのじょはダンスの練習れんしゅうを毎日まいにちしています。

She practises dancing every day.

Usage ダンス is Western-style dance; traditional Japanese dance is 踊り (おどり), and the verb for both is 踊る (おどる). 盆踊り is the Obon festival dance.

Remember it From English 'dance', three mora: だ-ん-す.

週末しゅうまつは友達ともだちとサッカーをして楽しんでたのしんでいます。

At weekends I enjoy playing football with friends.

Usage Japanese took the American word 'soccer', not 'football' — so フットボール suggests American football instead. Note the small tsu: サッカー.

Remember it From English 'soccer'. Japan's professional league is the Jリーグ, founded in 1993.

日本にほんでは野球やきゅうがとても人気にんきのあるスポーツです。

Baseball is a very popular sport in Japan.

Usage Unlike most modern sports, baseball got a native compound rather than a loanword — a mark of how early and how deeply it took root in Japan.

Remember it 野 (field) + 球 (ball). The field-ball game.

毎週まいしゅう土曜日どようびにテニスコートで練習れんしゅうしています。

I practise at the tennis courts every Saturday.

Usage テニスコート = tennis court. Japanese borrows コート for the court but the same sound also means a coat — context tells them apart.

Remember it From English 'tennis', three mora: て-に-す.

健康けんこうのために毎週まいしゅう水泳すいえいを楽しんでたのしんでいます。

I enjoy swimming every week for my health.

Usage 水泳 is swimming as a sport or subject; the verb for the act is 泳ぐ (およぐ). 水泳教室 = swimming lessons, 競泳 (きょうえい) = competitive swimming.

Remember it 水 (water) + 泳 (to swim). The same 泳 as the verb 泳ぐ.

朝あさ早くはやく起きて公園こうえんでジョギングをする習慣しゅうかんがあります。

I have a habit of getting up early and jogging in the park.

Usage ジョギング for a gentle run, ランニング for a harder one, マラソン for the race. 習慣がある = to have a habit.

Remember it From English 'jogging', five mora — long, but it resisted clipping.

仕事しごとのストレスを解消かいしょうするためにヨガを始めはじめました。

I started yoga to relieve work stress.

Usage ストレスを解消する = to relieve stress, a set collocation worth learning whole. ために = in order to, for the purpose of.

Remember it From Sanskrit via English, just two mora: よ-が.

同僚どうりょうたちとカラオケに行っていって、楽しいたのしい時間じかんを過ごしすごしました。

I went to karaoke with my colleagues and had a great time.

Usage This word went the other way: English borrowed 'karaoke' from Japanese. In Japan you rent a private room by the hour, rather than sing to a whole bar.

Remember it 空 (kara, empty) + オケ, clipped from オーケストラ. An empty orchestra, waiting for your voice.

大好きだいすきな歌手かしゅのコンサートに行くいくチケットを手てに入れたいれた。

I got hold of a ticket to my favourite singer's concert.

Usage 手に入れる = to obtain or get hold of, literally 'to put into your hand'. ライブ is used for pop and rock gigs, コンサート for classical or large-scale shows.

Remember it From English 'concert', five mora: こ-ん-さ-あ-と.

学校がっこうの文化祭ぶんかさいで劇げきを演じえんじました。

We performed a play at the school culture festival.

Usage 演じる (えんじる) = to perform or act a role. 劇 also intensifies other words: 劇的 (dramatic), 劇場 (theatre) from the travel lesson.

Remember it 劇 = 豦 + 刂 (a blade). Originally something violent and intense — hence drama.

疲れたつかれた時ときは、お笑いわらい番組ばんぐみを見てみて笑うわらうのが一番いちばんです。

When I'm tired, nothing beats watching a comedy show and laughing.

Usage お笑い is Japanese comedy as a genre, above all 漫才 (まんざい), the two-person double act. 番組 (ばんぐみ) = a TV or radio programme.

Remember it お + 笑い, the noun from 笑う (to laugh). The laughing business.

会場かいじょうを埋うめた観客かんきゃくが一斉いっせいに立たち上あがりました。

The audience filling the hall rose to their feet all at once.

Usage 観客 watch in person; 視聴者 (しちょうしゃ) watch on television; 読者 read. Japanese uses a separate word for each kind of audience.

Remember it 観 (to watch) + 客 (guest). The guests who came to watch.

インターネットのおかげで、世界中せかいじゅうの情報じょうほうにすぐアクセスできます。

Thanks to the internet, we can access information worldwide instantly.

Usage Nearly always shortened to ネット in speech: ネットで調べる = to look it up online. 世界中 (せかいじゅう) = all over the world.

Remember it From English 'internet', seven mora in full — which is why ネット won.

SNSで友達ともだちの近況きんきょうを知るしることができて便利べんりです。

It's convenient being able to keep up with friends' news on social media.

Usage Important: SNS is Japanese-made English. English speakers say 'social media' — no one outside Japan says SNS. Read it as エスエヌエス.

Remember it From 'Social Networking Service', an abbreviation that only really lives in Japanese.

誕生日たんじょうびパーティーに友達ともだちを招待しょうたいしました。

I invited my friends to a birthday party.

Usage 招待する (しょうたい) = to invite, and takes を for the guest. 飲み会 (のみかい) is the far more common Japanese social gathering — a drinking party.

Remember it From English 'party', five mora: ぱ-あ-て-い-い.

合格ごうかくを祝っていわって、家族かぞくでお祝いいわいパーティーをしました。

We had a family celebration party for my passing the exam.

Usage 祝う (いわう) is the verb, お祝い the noun — and お祝い also means the money gift given at weddings and births, usually in a decorated envelope.

Remember it 祝 = 礻 (the altar radical) + 兄. Celebration began as something done before the gods.

選手せんしゅを応援おうえんするために球場きゅうじょうまで行いきました。

I went all the way to the stadium to cheer the players on.

Usage 応援する covers cheering at sport and backing someone generally. 応援団 (おうえんだん) is the organised cheering squad at Japanese schools.

Remember it 応 (to respond) + 援 (to aid). Answering with your support.

クリスマスに家族かぞくが集まってあつまって一緒いっしょに食事しょくじをします。

At Christmas the family gathers and eats together.

Usage Christmas in Japan is a romantic evening for couples rather than a family religious holiday — and eating KFC on Christmas Eve is a genuine national custom.

Remember it From English 'Christmas'. New Year, not Christmas, is Japan's great family holiday.

お正月しょうがつには神社じんじゃに初詣はつもうでに行くいくのが習慣しゅうかんです。

At New Year it's customary to make the first shrine visit of the year.

Usage お正月 is the biggest holiday of the Japanese year: family gather, offices close, and people eat おせち料理 and send 年賀状 (New Year cards).

Remember it 正 (correct, proper) + 月 (month). The proper opening month of the year.

お盆ぼんの時期じきは、先祖せんぞの霊れいを迎えるむかえる風習ふうしゅうがあります。

At Obon there is a custom of welcoming the spirits of one's ancestors.

Usage Obon falls in mid-August, when ancestors are said to return home. The whole country travels at once, so trains and motorways are famously jammed.

Remember it 盆 means a tray or basin; the festival name is shortened from 盂蘭盆, a Sanskrit borrowing.

春はるになると、公園こうえんで花見はなみをする人々ひとびとで賑わいますにぎわいます。

In spring, parks bustle with people viewing the cherry blossom.

Usage 花見 means cherry blossom specifically — 花 defaults to 桜 in this word. It means sitting under the trees with food and drink, not just looking.

Remember it 花 (flower) + 見 (to look). Flower-viewing, where the flower goes without saying.

地域ちいきの夏祭りなつまつりで浴衣ゆかたを着てきて花火はなびを楽しみましたたのしみました。

I wore a yukata and enjoyed the fireworks at the local summer festival.

Usage 浴衣 (ゆかた) is the light cotton summer kimono worn to festivals — far more casual than a formal 着物. 屋台 (やたい) = the food stalls.

Remember it 夏 (summer) + 祭り (festival). Note the rendaku: まつり stays unvoiced here after つ.

今週末こんしゅうまつは市内しないでさまざまなイベントが開催かいさいされます。

Various events will be held in the city this weekend.

Usage イベント is a commercial or public event; 行事 (ぎょうじ) from the school lesson is a scheduled formal one. 開催される = to be held, in the passive.

Remember it From English 'event', four mora: い-べ-ん-と.

コンサートのチケットは発売はつばい開始かいし直後ちょくごに売り切れうりきれました。

The concert tickets sold out right after they went on sale.

Usage チケット is for events; 切符 (きっぷ) is for transport. 売り切れ (うりきれ) = sold out, 発売 = going on sale, 直後 = immediately after.

Remember it From English 'ticket', four mora with a small tsu: ち-け-っ-と.

この博物館はくぶつかんの入場料にゅうじょうりょうは大人おとな500円えん、子供こどもは無料むりょうです。

Admission to this museum is 500 yen for adults and free for children.

Usage 無料 (むりょう) = free of charge, 有料 (ゆうりょう) = chargeable. The 料 suffix marks a fee: 入場料, 送料, 手数料.

Remember it 入場 (entering a venue) + 料 (a charge). The charge for going in.

彼女かのじょはそのアイドルの熱狂的ねっきょうてきなファンで、コンサートに毎回まいかい行きいきます。

She's a fanatical fan of that idol and goes to every concert.

Usage ファン is a supporter, but the same katakana also names an electric fan — context decides. 熱狂的 (ねっきょうてき) = fanatical, 毎回 = every time.

Remember it From English 'fan', short for fanatic — which 熱狂的 in this very sentence spells out.

彼かれは一夜いちやにしてスターになり、多くおおくのファンに愛されあいされています。

He became a star overnight and is loved by many fans.

Usage 一夜にして = overnight, in the sense of a sudden transformation. 愛される is the passive of 愛する — to be loved.

Remember it From English 'star'. The native 星 (ほし) keeps only the astronomical sense.

その料理りょうり番組ばんぐみは若いわかい主婦しゅふの間あいだでとても人気にんきがあります。

That cooking programme is very popular among young housewives.

Usage 人気がある = to be popular, using ある rather than an adjective. 〜の間で = among a group. Read にんき; the same kanji read ひとけ means a sign of people about.

Remember it 人 (people) + 気 (feeling). The feeling people have toward something.

昨日きのうの映画えいがはとても面白かったおもしろかったので、もう一度いちど見たいみたいです。

Yesterday's film was so interesting that I want to see it again.

Usage 面白い covers both interesting and funny — context decides which. Its opposites split: つまらない (dull) and 退屈 (tedious).

Remember it 面 (face) + 白い (white). Faces lit up pale in the firelight, watching something good.

休日きゅうじつなのにすることがなくて、退屈たいくつでしかたがありません。

It's my day off but I have nothing to do, so I'm terribly bored.

Usage てしかたがない = 'unbearably so', an N3 pattern for feelings you cannot help. 退屈な is a な-adjective: 退屈な話.

Remember it 退 (to withdraw) + 屈 (to bend, to yield). Your spirit folding in on itself.

そのドラマを見てみて感動かんどうして、思わずおもわず涙なみだが流れながれました。

I was so moved watching that drama that tears came without my meaning them to.

Usage 感動する = to be moved emotionally, and 感動的な = moving. Japanese uses it far more freely than English uses 'moved' — films, speeches, meals.

Remember it 感 (to feel) + 動 (to move). Your feelings actually moved.