This deep dive covers Hobbies und Medien — Hobbies and media within Free-time activities for GCSE German. Revise Free-time activities in Theme 2: Popular Culture for GCSE German with 10 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 2 of 4 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
📋 Hobbies und Medien — Hobbies and media
Every noun is listed with its article (der/die/das) and plural — learn them together, because the article and plural are tested.
| Deutsch | English |
|---|---|
| die Freizeit (no pl) | free time |
| das Hobby / die Hobbys | hobby |
| das Buch / die Bücher | book |
| die Zeitschrift / die Zeitschriften | magazine |
| das Lied / die Lieder | song |
| der Film / die Filme | film |
| das Kino / die Kinos | cinema |
| das Videospiel / die Videospiele | video game |
| das Instrument / die Instrumente | instrument |
Freizeit-Verben — Free-time verbs
| Deutsch | English |
|---|---|
| fernsehen (sehe … fern) | to watch TV (separable) |
| lesen | to read |
| Musik hören | to listen to music |
| spielen | to play |
| tanzen | to dance |
| sich treffen (treffe mich) | to meet (reflexive) |
| ausgehen (gehe … aus) | to go out (separable) |
| schwimmen | to swim |
| Rad fahren | to cycle |
| wandern | to hike |
⭐ gern + verb = like doing
Add gern straight after the verb to say you like doing something:
- Ich spiele gern Fußball. — I like playing football.
- Ich sehe gern fern. — I like watching TV.
- Ich lese nicht gern. — I don't like reading.
For "prefer", use lieber: Ich spiele lieber Tennis. (I prefer playing tennis.)
In meiner Freizeit spiele ich gern Fußball und ich sehe gern fern.
In my free time I like playing football and I like watching TV.
- gern comes after the verb = like doing the activity
- sehe … fern — separable verb: the prefix fern jumps to the end of the clause
- In meiner Freizeit is fronted, so the verb stays second (V2): spiele ich
Am Wochenende treffe ich mich mit Freunden, weil wir zusammen ins Kino gehen.
At the weekend I meet up with friends, because we go to the cinema together.
- sich treffen is reflexive: treffe mich (I meet myself / I meet up)
- weil sends the verb gehen to the very end of the clause
- ins Kino = to the cinema (in + das → ins)
Practice questions for Free-time activities
What does 'die Freizeit' mean in English?
What is the German for 'to watch TV'?