lonely planet Mandarin phrasebook
Interests / Hobbies terms

Common interests

Have you ever had a moment in your lifetime where you believe you've met the Chinese girl/guy of your dream and you're anxious to find out what is her/his interests or hobbies. Well, here are tips and terms you can learn that will help you ease on when approaching that person. Start by having a nice conversation by getting to know them more.

What do you do in your spare time? - 你有什么爱好吗？ (Ni you shenme aihao ma?)

Do you like....?- 你喜欢。。。。。。吗？ (Ni xihuan.....ma?)

I (don't) like... - 我 (不) 喜欢。。。 (Wo (bu) xihuan....)

• calligraphy- 书法 (shufa)
• climbing mountains- 爬山 (pashan)
• computer games- 电子游戏 (dianzi youxi)
• cooking- 做饭 (zuofan)
• dancing- 跳舞 (tiaowu)
• drawing- 画画儿 (huahuar)
• drinking- 喝酒 (hejiu)
• eating- 吃饭 (chifan)
• films- 看电影 (kan dianying)
• gardening- 扬花 (yanghua)
• music- 听音乐 (tingyinue)
• photography- 拍照 (paizhao)
• reading- 看书 (kanshu)
• sport- 体育 (tiyu)
• surfing the internet- 冲网 (chongwang)
• talking- 聊天儿 (liaotianr)
• traveling- 陆游 (luyou)
• walking- 散步 (sanbu)
• watching TV- 看电视 (kan dianshi)
• window shopping- 逛商店 (guangshangdian)
  

Sports...

In Mandarin, any sport can be "played" using the verb (wan 玩) but generally this has light-hearted connotations, as in "to have a kick of the ball". If you want to express such a playful interest in sport then you these two phrases below:

I like to play.... - 我喜欢玩。。。 (Wo xihuan wan....)

What sport do you play? - 你喜欢玩什么体育？ (Ni xihuan wan shenme tiyu?)

To say that you really play a sport, you need to use an appropriate verb such as "hit" （da 打) or "kick" (ti 踢). Some sports (such as gymnastics and martial arts) are identified not by hits or kicks but by the rigorous "repetitive training" (lian 练) required by the practitioner. The verb "do" (gao 搞) can be used when you're not sure whether you should hit, kick, or you must need to train harder (as in bicycling or being an athletics).

1. Sports that take "hit" （da, 打)
   
   • (beach) volleyball- (沙滩)排球 (shatan) paiqiu
   • badminton- 羽毛球 (yumaoqiu)
   • basketball- 篮球 (lanqiu)
   • handball- 手球 (shouqiu)
   • hockey- 曲棍球 (qugunqiu)
   • table tennis- 乒乓球 (pinpang qiu)
   • tennis- 网球 (wangqiu)
   • water polo- 水球 (shuiqiu)
     
2. Sports that take "kick" (踢, ti)
   
   • American football- 美式橄榄球 (Meishi ganlanqiu)
   • Australian Rules football- 奥式橄榄球 (Aoshi ganlanqiu)
   • football (soccer)- 足球 (zuqiu)
   • rugby- 英式橄榄球 (Yingshi ganlanqiu
     
3. Sports that take "do" (搞, gao)
   
   • archery- 射箭 (shejian)
   • fencing- 剑术 (jianshu)
   • long distance running- 长跑 (changpao)
   • rowing- 换船 (huachuan)
   • sailing- 帆船 (fanchuan)
   • scuba diving- 潜水游 (qianshui you)
   • shooting- 射击 (sheji)
   • swimming- 游泳 (youyou)
   • track & field- 田径 (tianjing)
   • weightlifting- 举重 (juzhong)
     
4. Sports that take "rigorous training" (练, lian)
   
   • gymnastics- 体操 (ticao)
   • judo- 柔道 (roudao)
   • karate- 空手道 (kongshoudao)
   • martial arts- 武术 (wushu)
   • taekwondo- 太空到 (taikongdao)
   • tai chi- 太极拳 (taijiquan)
     

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Note from fake_innocent:
For more hobbies or sports terms, please kindly PM me regarding your request. Thanks!

Thanks! Now, I can brag in chinese class about all the sports I know. Nah, jk.

seriously, i suck at chinese , so this was certainly a great help for me to communicate well in chinese.
thanks a lot (:
ROCK ON!