A hobby is هِوَايَة, and free time is وَقْت الْفَرَاغ. Say فِي وَقْت الْفَرَاغ, “in (my) free time”. Many hobbies are nouns for an action: قِرَاءَة (reading), رَسْم (drawing), طَبْخ (cooking) and سِبَاحَة (swimming). To say what you like, put أُحِبّ before the noun with الْ: أُحِبّ الْقِرَاءَة. To say what your hobby is, use هِوَايَتِي: هِوَايَتِي الرَّسْم. The ending ـِي means “my”. To ask a friend, say مَا هِوَايَتُك؟
Hobby
I like…
قِرَاءَة
أُحِبّ الْقِرَاءَة
رَسْم
أُحِبّ الرَّسْم
طَبْخ
أُحِبّ الطَّبْخ
سِبَاحَة
أُحِبّ السِّبَاحَة
مُوسِيقَى
أُحِبّ الْمُوسِيقَى
Worked examples
Tariq
مَا هِوَايَتُكِ يَا مُنَى؟
Mona
هِوَايَتِي الرَّسْم. وَأَنْتَ؟
Tariq
أُحِبّ الْقِرَاءَة وَالْمُوسِيقَى.
Mona
مَاذَا تَفْعَل فِي وَقْت الْفَرَاغ؟
Tariq
أَقْرَأ الْكُتُب فِي الْمَكْتَبَة.
Mona and Tariq talk about hobbies. Press each line.
Hobbies in the family. Listen and repeat.
Yes and no.
Class activity
Write six sentences about the hobbies in your family: what you like, what your mother, your father and your friend like, and what your own hobby is. Then ask a friend مَا هِوَايَتُك؟ (to a woman: مَا هِوَايَتُكِ؟) and write the answer.
Practice
1
Press Listen. What is the hobby: photography, reading or cooking?
Photography: التَّصْوِير (at-taṣwīr). It is a new word.
2
Write in Arabic: “My hobby is reading.”
هِوَايَتِي الْقِرَاءَة (hiwāyatī l-qirāʾa).
3
The picture shows a brush. Write: “I like drawing.”
أُحِبّ الرَّسْم (ʾuḥibb ar-rasm).
4
The picture shows a note. Write: “My brother likes music.”
