Lesson 63 - What's your hobby?

The Japanese word for hobby is shumi. There are many, many different hobbies we could list here, but for now, we'll just list the basics. Some typical Japanese hobbies could be karate, judou, kendou, akidou, kyuudou, and yabusame, which are all martial arts, shodou (calligraphy), ikebana (flower arranging), bonsai (caring for small trees), KARAOKE (singing), origami (paper folding), and card games such as iroha KARUTA, hanafuda, and hyakunin isshu.

Since we're just trying to learn a lot of new vocabulary here, let's launch into a conversation and go from there. Here we will talk to Hisashi and Jiro about their hobbies.

Hisashi: Jiro-san no shumi wa nan desu ka?
Jiro: PURAMODERU o tsukurimasu. Ryouri o shimasu. Hisashi-san wa?
Hisashi: Mushi to kitte o atsumemasu. KONPYUUTA GEEMU o shimasu.
Jiro: Donna mushi o atsumemasu ka?
Hisashi: Chouchou o atsumemasu. Donna PURAMODERU o tsukurimasu ka?
Jiro: Hikouki ya densha ya kuruma ya fune nado o tsukurimasu. Omoshiroi desu. PURAMODERU o rokunenkan tsukutte imasu.
Hisashi: Sou desu ka? Manga o yomimasu ka?
Jiro: Manga wa anmari yomimasen. Demo dokusho ga suki desu. Hon dake yomimasu.
Hisashi: Boku wa manga ga daisuki desu. Jiro-san no hon o motte ikimasu ka?
Jiro: Hai. Misemasu.
Hisashi: Hima na hi ni nani o shimasu ka?
Jiro: Boku wa inu to issho ni sanpo ni ikimasu.
Hisashi: PETTO o katte imasu ka?
Jiro: Hai. Inu no namae wa PUUKI desu.
Hisashi: Kawaii desu ne. Inu ga hoshii desu.
Jiro: Tokidoki kaimono o sukoshi shimasu.
Hisashi: Boku mo. Hima na hi ni SUTEREO o kikimasu.
Jiro: Ongaku ga suki desu ka?
Hisashi: Hai! Senshuu KONSAATO ni ikimashita. Subarashikatta desu.
Jiro: Sou desu ka? Omoshiroi desu!
Hisashi: Raigetsu KONSAATO ga arimasu. Issho ni ikimashou ka?
Jiro: Hai! Ikimashou!

Alright, let's see what these two boys said. Hisashi begins by asking, "What is your hobby?" Jiro replies, "I make plastic models. I cook. You?" PURAMODERU is plastic models and tsukurimasu is to make. Hisashi says, "I collect insects and stamps. I play video games." Mushi is insects, kitte is stamps, atsumemasu is to collect, and KONPYUUTA GEEMU is computer games. Jiro asks what kind of insects he collects. Hisashi replies he collects butterflies and asks what kind of plastic models Jiro makes. Chouchou is butterfly. Jiro replies, "I make airplanes, trains, cars, boats, as well as other things. It is interesting. I've been making plastic models for six years." Nado is sort of like saying et cetera, and nenkan is the counter for how many years you do something. Just for interest, the counter for years is nen, the counter for months is kagetsu, and the counter for weeks is shuukan. Hisashi then asks if he reads comic books. Jiro replies, "I don't read many comics. But I like reading. I only read books." Anmari is not many or not much (only used with a negative verb), dokusho is reading, and dake is only. (Note that it replaces a particle, while nado doesn't) Hisashi replies, "I like comic books a lot. Will you bring your books?" Mochimasu means to have or hold, but when used with ikimasu, it becomes to bring. Jiro replies that he will show him. Hisashi then asks, "What do you do on free days?" Hima is free time, and is a qualitative noun. Jiro replies that he takes a walk with his dog. Sanpo is walk. Hisashi then asks, "You have a pet?" Katte imasu means to have, as in a pet. Jiro replies, "Yes. My dog's name is Pookie." Hisashi replies that is cute and he wants a dog. Jiro then says, "Sometimes I do a little shopping." Sukoshi means a little or a bit. Hisashi replies, "Me too. On free days, I listen to my stereo." Jiro asks if he likes music and Hisashi replies, "Yes! Last week I went to a concert. It was wonderful." KONSAATO means concert and subarashii means wonderful or marvelous. Jiro then says, "Is that so? Interesting!" Hisashi says, "Next month there is a concert. Shall we go together?" Jiro replies, "Yea! Let's go!"

Vocabulary Review
趣味 Shumi- hobby
空手、受動、剣道、あきどう、弓道、流鏑馬 Karate, judou, kendou, akidou, kyuudou, yabusame- martial arts
書道 Shodou- calligraphy
生け花 Ikebana- flower arranging
盆栽 Bonsai- caring for small trees
カラオケ KARAOKE- singing with music
折り紙 Origami- paper folding
伊呂波カルタ、花札、百人一首 irohaKARUTA, hanafuda, hyakunin isshu- card games
プラモデル PURAMODERU- plastic models
作ります Tsukurimasu- to make
虫 Mushi- insects (i.e. 鈴虫  Suzumushi - bell cricket)
切手 Kitte- stamps
集めます Atsumemasu- to collect
コンピュータゲーム KONPYUUTA GEEMU- computer games
町長 Chouchou- butterfly
など Nado- et cetera
年間 -Nenkan- counter for how many years
年 -Nen- counter for years
ヶ月 -Kagetsu- counter for months
週間 -Shuukan- counter for weeks
あんまり Anmari- not many/not much
読書 Dokusho- reading
だけ Dake- only
持ちます Mochimasu- to have/hold
持って来ます Motte kimasu- to bring
持って行きます Motte ikimasu- to take
暇 Hima- free time
散歩 Sanpo- a walk
飼っています Katte imasu- to have a pet
少し Sukoshi- a little/a bit
コンサート KONSAATO- concert
すばらしい Subarashii- wonderful/marvelous