ご趣味
goshumi
The Japanese phrase for "your hobbies" is ご趣味 (goshumi).
The phrase refers to the activities a person enjoys doing in their spare time.
What does it mean word for word?
The word consists of the honorific prefix ご added to 趣味 (hobby). The prefix ご is used to show respect to the listener's possessions or qualities.
Which one should you use?
Use 趣味 instead of ご趣味 when talking about your own hobbies to avoid sounding overly polite or unnatural.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ご趣味 is the polite way to refer to someone else's hobbies and is often used in conversation or formal settings.
How does it change in a sentence?
When discussing hobbies in an informal way, you can use the pattern ___ ga suki. to say "I like ___." For hobbies involving creation, the expression ___ o tsukutteiru. can be used in casual conversation to say "I am creating ___."
How do you pronounce it?
goshumi
Did you know?
- When talking about a hobby that is a deep passion, Japanese speakers might use the slang term 沼 (numa), which literally means 'swamp', implying they have fallen into a hole they cannot get out of.
- If you describe someone as having 趣味が悪い (bad hobbies), you are not necessarily criticizing their activities, but rather their sense of style or social judgment. It is a common way to call someone 'tacky'.
- While English speakers might answer 'your hobbies' with a list, Japanese speakers often use the word こだわり (kodawari) to describe a specific, obsessive passion or a particular way of doing something that they are proud of.
Examples in context
- ご趣味は何ですか？Goshumi wa nan desu ka?What are your hobbies?
- ご趣味について教えてください。Goshumi ni tsuite oshiete kudasai.Please tell me about your hobbies.
Example conversation
Yui and Yota are chatting during a coffee break at work.
- 結衣 Yui陽太さんのご趣味は何ですか？Yota-san no goshumi wa nan desu ka?Yota, what are your hobbies?
- 陽太 Yota料理を作ることです。Ryouri o tsukuru koto desu.It is cooking.
- 結衣 Yui素敵ですね！Suteki desu ne!That's lovely!
- 陽太 Yota結衣さんのご趣味も教えてください。Yui-san no goshumi mo oshiete kudasai.Please tell me your hobbies too, Yui.
