LESSON NOTES · レッスンノート

N5Lesson notes · Oct 9, 2026

Hobby in Japanese: how do you say 趣味しゅみ (shumi) and talk about yours?

"Hobby" in Japanese is 趣味しゅみ (しゅみ, shumi), and the safest sentence is 趣味しゅみは〜ことです — "my hobby is doing ~" — with a verb in its dictionary form before こと.

Every self-introduction in Japanese eventually gets to this question, so it is worth building properly. The vocabulary is easy. The grammar trap is a small word, こと, that learners keep dropping. And the word 趣味しゅみ has a second life that English "hobby" does not: it also means taste, which is why 趣味しゅみじゃない does not mean "it's not my hobby."

The basics

How do you write "hobby" in Japanese?

The word is 趣味しゅみ, read しゅみ (shumi). In hiragana it is しゅみ, and in kanji it is 趣味しゅみ. Word for word: 趣おもむき is the "feel" or "flavor" of something, and 味あじ is "taste." A hobby is, literally, the thing whose flavor you enjoy.

趣味しゅみは何なんですか。 — What is your hobby? (polite, the standard question) 私わたしの趣味しゅみは映画えいがです。 — My hobby is movies. (polite, a noun answer)

You will see the word in forms, profile pages, and speed-dating-style small talk. It is a true N5-level word, but you will use it for years.

How do you say "My hobby is ~" with a noun?

If the activity is already a noun, just put it before です. No extra grammar is needed.

趣味しゅみは料理りょうりです。 — My hobby is cooking. (polite, 料理りょうり is a noun) 趣味しゅみは音楽鑑賞おんがくかんしょうです。 — My hobby is listening to music. (polite, a bit like a résumé line) 趣味しゅみは旅行りょこうです。 — My hobby is traveling. (polite, 旅行りょこう is a noun)

Nouns that end in a する-verb noun (料理りょうり, 旅行りょこう, 散歩さんぽ, 読書どくしょ) work especially well here. This is the pattern you will see on forms: 読書どくしょ (reading), 映画鑑賞えいがかんしょう (watching films), 写真しゃしん (photography).

How do you say "My hobby is doing ~" with a verb?

When the activity is a verb phrase, you need こと ("thing, act of doing") to turn it into a noun. Take the dictionary form of the verb and add ことです.

趣味しゅみは本ほんを読よむことです。 — My hobby is reading books. (polite, verb + こと) 趣味しゅみはアニメを見みることです。 — My hobby is watching anime. (polite) 趣味しゅみは写真しゃしんを撮とることです。 — My hobby is taking photos. (polite)

The formula is: [object] を [verb, dictionary form] ことです. こと is a nominalizer — it packages "reading books" into a single noun-like chunk so that は〜です can sit around it. Without it, the sentence is a verb pretending to be a noun, and Japanese listeners hear that.

What is ご趣味しゅみは? and when do you use it?

When you ask someone about their hobbies, you add the polite prefix ご: ご趣味しゅみは? ("What are your hobbies?"). It is natural with customers, people older than you, or someone you have just met in a formal setting. You do not use ご for your own hobbies; that would be like saying "my honorable hobby."

ご趣味しゅみは何なんですか。 — What are your hobbies? (very polite, to a senior or new acquaintance) 趣味しゅみは何なに? — What are your hobbies? (casual, with friends)

If you want to keep the conversation going after that, our article on two questions that keep a conversation alive gives you what to ask next.

Beyond the basics

What does 趣味しゅみじゃない mean?

This is where 趣味しゅみ stops translating as "hobby." When you say a thing is or is not 「私わたしの趣味しゅみじゃない」, you mean it is not to your taste — the style, the vibe, the genre is not your thing.

ホラーはちょっと私わたしの趣味しゅみじゃないです。 — Horror isn't really my thing. (polite, soft rejection) この服ふく、あまり趣味しゅみじゃないんだよね。 — This outfit isn't really my taste. (casual, mild)

It is gentler than saying 嫌きらい (I hate it). The speaker is saying "not for me," not "this is bad." If you want the opposite — the thing you love most — see ichiban suki and o-kiniiri.

What about 趣味しゅみがいい and 趣味しゅみが悪わるい?

The same "taste" meaning gives you compliments and insults. 趣味しゅみがいい means someone has good taste. 趣味しゅみが悪わるい (or the noun 悪趣味あくしゅみ, あくしゅみ) means bad or tacky taste.

あの人ひとは趣味しゅみがいいね。 — That person has good taste. (casual, a compliment about style or choices) 悪趣味あくしゅみな冗談じょうだんだ。 — That's a tasteless joke. (neutral to blunt, an insult)

Be careful with 趣味しゅみが悪わるい about a person's own choices. It lands like "you have bad taste," which is exactly as rude as it sounds in English.

How do 趣味しゅみ, 好すきなこと, and ハマっている differ?

Three words cover different angles. 趣味しゅみ sounds like a category of regular activity, the kind you would put on a profile. 好すきなこと is "things I like," and is looser and more personal. ハマっている means you are currently hooked and likely a bit obsessive.

趣味しゅみは読書どくしょですが、最近さいきんはゲームにハマっています。 — My hobby is reading, but lately I've been hooked on games. (polite, contrasting a steady hobby with a current craze) 好すきなことは、ぼーっとすることです。 — What I like is zoning out. (casual-polite, a personal preference rather than a "hobby")

If you want a deeper look at ハマる, see addicted in Japanese.

How do otaku and oshi-katsu fit in?

Fans often skip the word 趣味しゅみ and describe the activity directly. オタク (otaku) names the identity and 推おし活かつ (おしかつ, oshikatsu) names the activity of supporting a favorite person or character. They are very common in real conversation, and in anime when characters introduce themselves online.

趣味しゅみは推おし活かつです。 — My hobby is supporting my favorite (idol/character). (polite or casual, very natural now) 私わたし、アニメオタクなんです。 — I'm an anime otaku. (casual-polite, self-introduction)

The word オタク has a long and mixed history, so the register depends on who you are talking to; our otaku slang guide covers it in depth.

What does 趣味しゅみで mean?

Add で and 趣味しゅみ becomes "as a hobby" or "just for fun, not professionally."

趣味しゅみで絵えを描えがいています。 — I draw as a hobby. (polite, "not professionally") 趣味しゅみでギターを弾ひいてるだけです。 — I just play guitar for fun. (casual-polite, modest)

It is a graceful way to downplay a skill. A Japanese speaker with a very good photography portfolio might still say 趣味しゅみで撮とっているだけです.

How do you answer naturally in a self-introduction?

A good answer is short and then hands the ball back. Textbooks stop at one sentence. Real people add a reason or an invitation.

趣味しゅみは映画えいがを見みることです。特とくにアニメ映画えいがが好すきです。 — My hobby is watching movies. I especially like anime films. (polite, adds one detail) 趣味しゅみは散歩さんぽです。よく近所きんじょをぶらぶらしています。 — My hobby is walking. I often wander around my neighborhood. (polite, concrete image) 特とくに趣味しゅみというほどではないんですが、料理りょうりは好すきです。 — I wouldn't say it's a hobby exactly, but I like cooking. (polite, modest hedge)

If you have no hobby, 特とくにありません ("nothing in particular") is fine but ends the conversation. Offering "I like X" instead keeps it alive.

Common mistakes

  • Dropping こと. 私わたしの趣味しゅみはアニメを見みます is the single most common error. A verb ending in ます cannot stand where a noun belongs, so write 趣味しゅみはアニメを見みることです. Alternatively, switch to a noun: 趣味しゅみはアニメ鑑賞かんしょうです.
  • Putting the verb in the masu-form before こと. 見みますことです is wrong. Use the dictionary form: 見みることです.
  • Using ご趣味しゅみ for yourself. ご is for the other person's hobbies. Your own is just 私わたしの趣味しゅみ or 趣味しゅみ.
  • Confusing 趣味しゅみじゃない with "not a hobby." If someone says 「それは趣味しゅみじゃない」 they usually mean it is not their taste. If you want to say you do not do it as a hobby, say 趣味しゅみではやっていません.
  • Answering "勉強べんきょう" or "仕事しごと" without a hook. 趣味しゅみは勉強べんきょうです or 趣味しゅみは仕事しごとです is grammatical, but it often sounds like a dodge or a joke, and the other person may not know how to follow up. If it is true, add something: 趣味しゅみは勉強べんきょうです。最近さいきんは日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうしています. The second sentence gives them something to ask about.

Which phrase fits which situation?

Phrase Feel Use for
趣味しゅみは〜です Plain, polite Noun answers (料理りょうり, 旅行りょこう, 読書どくしょ)
趣味しゅみは〜ことです Plain, polite Verb answers (本ほんを読よむこと)
ご趣味しゅみは? Very polite Asking a senior or new acquaintance
趣味しゅみは何なに? Casual Asking friends
〜が趣味しゅみじゃない Soft "Not my taste"
趣味しゅみで〜 Modest "Just for fun, not professionally"
〜にハマっている Casual Current obsession

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 4 and 5 are a pair — the same word, two completely different meanings.

1. Say "My hobby is cooking." Cooking is already a noun (料理りょうり).

Show answer

趣味しゅみは料理りょうりです — the activity is already a noun, so it goes straight before です with no こと.

2. Say "My hobby is reading books." Use 本ほんを読よむ.

Show answer

趣味しゅみは本ほんを読よむことです — 読よむ is a verb phrase, so the dictionary form plus こと turns it into a noun that can sit before です.

3. What is wrong with 私わたしの趣味しゅみはアニメを見みます?

Show answer

こと is missing. Correct: 私わたしの趣味しゅみはアニメを見みることです. Without こと, a verb ending ます is sitting where a noun should be.

4. Your friend says この服ふくはあまり趣味しゅみじゃない. Does she do this as a hobby?

Show answer

No — it is not her taste. 趣味しゅみ here means "taste/preference," so she is saying the outfit is not to her liking. This is the pair to question 5.

5. Say "I draw as a hobby," meaning just for fun.

Show answer

趣味しゅみで絵えを描えがいています — 趣味しゅみで means "as a hobby / not professionally." Same word as question 4, but now it describes why you do the activity.

6. You are meeting your boss's boss. How do you ask about their hobbies politely?

Show answer

ご趣味しゅみは何なんですか — the prefix ご honors the other person. You would never use ご for your own hobbies.

7. Pick the better word: 趣味しゅみが悪わるい or 趣味しゅみがいい — to compliment a friend's style.

Show answer

趣味しゅみがいい — "good taste." 趣味しゅみが悪わるい is the insult version, "bad taste."

8. Say "My hobby is supporting my favorite idol," using the modern word for it.

Show answer

趣味しゅみは推おし活かつです — 推おし活かつ is a noun (the activity of supporting your 推おし), so no こと is needed.

9. Say "It's not really my taste" about a horror movie, politely and softly.

Show answer

ホラーはちょっと私わたしの趣味しゅみじゃないです — 趣味しゅみじゃない means "not my taste." The ちょっと softens it so it does not sound like criticism of the movie.

10. Someone says 趣味しゅみは仕事しごとです at a party. Why might that be awkward?

Show answer

It can sound like a joke or a dodge. The sentence is grammatical, but it gives the listener nothing to follow up on. Adding a detail, like 最近さいきんは新あたらしい企画きかくを作つくっています, makes it a real answer.

FAQ

Is 趣味しゅみ only for hobbies? No. The word covers both "hobby" and "taste." Context decides: 趣味しゅみは読書どくしょです is a hobby, while 趣味しゅみがいい or 趣味しゅみじゃない is about taste.

Do I need こと every time? Only when the answer is a verb phrase. With a noun like 料理りょうり, 旅行りょこう, or 読書どくしょ, just use 趣味しゅみは〜です. If the answer sounds like an action ("watching," "reading," "playing"), use ことです.

Can I say 趣味しゅみは何なんですか to my boss? It is grammatical and polite enough, but ご趣味しゅみは何なんですか is better with someone senior. For a customer or a new acquaintance, use ご too.

What if I have no hobby? Say 特とくに趣味しゅみはありません ("I don't have a particular hobby"). It is honest and polite. To keep the conversation open, add something like 最近さいきんは〜が好すきです ("lately I like ~").

Is 趣味しゅみ the same as 好すきなこと? Close but not identical. 趣味しゅみ sounds like a regular activity you could list on a profile. 好すきなこと is anything you like, hobby or not, and sounds more personal.

Is 推おし活かつ a hobby? Yes, and a very common one now. Plenty of people list 推おし活かつ directly as their 趣味しゅみ on a self-introduction.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab, and each line becomes one card.

趣味	しゅみ — hobby; taste
ご趣味	ごしゅみ — your hobby (honorific)
料理	りょうり — cooking
旅行	りょこう — travel
読書	どくしょ — reading
鑑賞	かんしょう — appreciating, watching (films, music)
こと	こと — thing; act of doing (nominalizer)
悪趣味	あくしゅみ — bad taste, tacky
推し活	おしかつ — supporting one's favorite
オタク	おたく — otaku, devoted fan
ハマる	はまる — to get hooked on
散歩	さんぽ — walk, stroll
特に	とくに — especially, in particular

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard students ask about — including this one, which comes up in nearly every self-introduction lesson. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5 · Read something at this level: JLPT N5 stories with audio

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